Field of onions in May, near Tubas, Palestinian Territories.
ALTHOUGH ONION, ALLIUM CEPA, today is an essential component of Middle East cuisine, there is a solitary reference to onion in the Bible and none in the Quran. Onions were among the desired foods of Egypt by the dissembling Children of Israel (Numbers 11:5). The origins of the onion are still being debated (Zohary and Hopf 2000), though there are numerous indigenous Allium species in the region.
Onion has been a food for millennia, both in Egypt and Mesopotamia (Murray 2000). Onion is easily grown from seed, and after germination the small seedlings are set out to mature. While the main purpose of onion was obviously as a food, onions have been found inside mummies, indicating a role in the preservation of the body or as an aid to the person in the afterlife.
Field of onions in June, near Ramallah, Palestinian Territories. Watchtowers like the one in the background were once a common feature in fields of highly valued crops; a guard would live there and watch for poachers.
