Palestine Lives! · Scavenger Hunt
Jaffa Orange Grove
Sweet, seedless, and deeply rooted — the fruit of a thriving Palestinian city.
Original sticker design by Alyssa Polito
About this Motif
Jaffa City was once a thriving Arab city, containing well-known cultural scenes from markets to theaters to cafes. With surrounding villages producing citrus fruits for trade, Jaffa’s port made it one of the most important cities in the Mediterranean.
In the 1800s, Palestinian farmers created the shamouti, a nearly seedless orange with a thick rind and sweet-flavor. Orange groves were a vital industry for Palestinian families. In the years leading up to 1939, as many as 15 million boxes of oranges were exported out of the port of Jaffa.
The prominence of citrus and Jaffa orange agriculture inspired the well known orange blossom motif found in Beit Dajan embroideries, cementing the motive as a symbol of Palestinian cultural heritage.