Helvetic Airways Newsflash Nr. 34 / 2013
 
 
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A fig led Eve into temptation
In Apulia, the fig harvest is currently in full swing. This is reason enough to explore the historical background of this symbolic fruit:

Archaeological findings of the remains of dried figs that are over 10,000 years old have been unearthed in a house that was part of a Neolithic settlement in present-day West Bank. The findings confirm that the fig was the first plant to be used agriculturally and culturally by mankind. This means that if a tree did indeed stand in Paradise, it would have been a fig tree, not an apple tree. It certainly wouldn’t have been an apple that Eve picked, but a fig.
 
Refined fig trees are the only fig trees that supply sweet fruits, but they can only be propagated using cuttings and via cultivation. Their use in civilisation can therefore be reliably proven in this way. As a cultivated plant, the fig would then pre-date the first cereal grasses by at least 1,000 years, and pre-date grapes, olives and dates by around 5,000 years.
 
As a result of its early value as a food-stuff, the fig was given great, symbolic meaning. For centuries, the fig has symbolised fertility and its heart shape has represented the greater things in life, such as love and happiness.

We will not lead you into temptation, but will happily lead you into the land of sweet fruits:
  • Zurich-Bari 6 times a week
  • Zurich-Brindisi 2 times a week, on Thursdays and Sundays
  • Bern-Brindisi every Friday.
www.helvetic.com/apulia
www.helvetic.com/flightplanoverview
 
 
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