Never mind that palm trees are to be found in California, in the American southwest, and in Florida (and that’s just the ones I know). Early associations trump adult learning. Forget the cedars of Lebanon: to me, palm trees speak now and always of the Middle East, of desert and sand dunes, of Bethlehem.
My associations with palm trees are the same as yours. Your lovely photo might have illuminated a story in Hurlbut’s Story of the Bible. I seem to recall that palms are not native to Florida (e.g., http://lee.ifas.ufl.edu/Hort/GardenPubsAZ/Florida_Native_Palms.pdf ), although they arrived long before the other prevalent introduction, water hyacinth, that with pines so often dominate the view.
Laurna – I don’t suppose palms are indigenous to Arizona either, but they’ve found a welcome there nonetheless. (Refugee trees, perhaps?) I’ve not seen the Holy Land except in photos – I think it looks better in Bible illustrations . . .
And I hear there are many rooms in the inns; tourism is way down thanks to the hostilities. A good place to stay away from. Safe travels!
Yes, I think we’ll pass on that part of the world. We’re home safely from this last spate of travel – and 1/3 of our luggage with us . . .