The Palmyra palm is the provenance of palm sugar, which is made by tapping the unopened male or female flower and boiling down the sap. It also produces a palm nut which, when they germinate, produce an edible embryo which is used as a vegetable. A friend of mine and I camped late one night in the desert at Palmyra. We woke at dawn and rose. Out of the rosy light and low mist there slowly emerged a conical hill with a castle perched on its top, like a sandcastle made by gods at play. And then a city; avenues of standing columns; the remains of palaces, theatres and more humble dwellings; plinths where statues of the populace had once stood; a great city once ruled over by Queen Zenobia who defied the Romans and won freedom for her city. Through this ghost of a great past, graceful Arabs walked or cycled to work, impervious to the overwhelming beauty of this place, making their way to the oasis of Palmyra palms.
