On a lighter note, I tend to pride myself on having a reasonable amount of common sense. I also pride myself on my knowledge of plant life. Therefore I only have jetlag to blame for the following incident.
On our first night in Bethlehem, we were served some nuts (pictured above) as an appetizer. We all commented on how tasty they were, and even suggested that they were like peanuts, only better. We asked around, and no one could offer us a good explanation for what kind of nut they were. So we determined they must be a magical Holy Land nut.
Fast forward to the next day when we visited the sycamore tree where Zacchaeus supposedly climbed up to see Jesus in Jericho (below). As we got out of the bus, vendors swarmed us attempting to sell scarves, postcards, prayer shawls, and…. Sycamore nuts! Mystery solved and case closed!
So we get back on the bus and offer some sycamore nuts to our guide, Deeb, who proceeds to double over laughing. “Those are peanuts with sugar,” he managed to say between laughs. I guess there is a sucker born everyday.
Parson Carson 
That is so funny! Continue to enjoy and maintain your sense of humor! I love you!
LOL!
Sent from my iPad
Will you be bringing back some magical Holy Land nuts? LOL
Reblogged this on Pastor Mack's Place and commented:
I, too, fell for the ruse of the sycamore nut. My friend Parson Carson’s reflections are funny and, since I was tricked too, a little sad.
I was tricked just a couple of weeks ago. It’s sad that they sell them in stores a REAL sycamore nuts.
Duped…But now you have a great story to tell!
Ben, that is hilarious!!!! Thanks for sharing the story.
We too fell for this …ho ho and that too a group of about 20 people. We even ended up buying kilos of the stuff from a shop in Bethlehem to take back home !!
My parents brought some back this winter and I loved them so much that i was looking for a place to buy them here — then stumbled on the ruse… sad day – but they are very delicious!
Delicious indeed! Plus now you have a story to tell!
I love them and can’t find them anywhere. Has anyone located a place to purchase or a recipe to make? I felt a little silly bringing them home, because I knew they were just peanuts, but now I wish I’d brought a lot more (like a year’s supply!)
I’m also anxious for a recipe or source. Anyone?
Our group was also duped hook like and all. But unfortunately offered it to my daughter-in-law
Who is highly allergic to peanuts so immediately sense it was peanuts as soon as she bit on it.
She spat it out right away, thanks goodness. They should tell the truth or warning.
HAHAHA! I have also been duped and the funniest thing to me right now is that I googled it and found your blog and MINE is ALSO a Parson Carson blog!!!! 🙂 theparsoncarson.blogspot.com 🙂 I’m happily eating these nuts right now while in Nazareth on a pilgrimage from the Diocese of Louisiana.
Greetings to my fellow Parson Carson! Enjoy your pilgrimage!
The legend continues ! My sister in law has just returned from holy land with lots of Sycamore nuts, and apparently from descendant trees of the Zacchaeus tree. Ha ha.
I went in March and brought back two bags! They are yummy. I got online to see how fattening they were and found out the truth!!! Oh well…..I am still enjoying them!!
I too just returned from Israel with a bag of what I thought were Sycamore nuts. They are so delicious, so I googled where to buy more and have now learned they are peanuts. But they are really good, so I don’t feel duped. I’m surprised that our guide did not tell us. After having a sample and wanting to buy some, he told me not to buy them at that location, that he knew of a cheaper place to get them. As it turned out, he actually bought a number of bags and gave them to our group for free.
They are so good! Thanks for sharing.
This is hilarious! While we were in the Holy Land this Feb 2019, quite a few of us pilgrims bought a few bags of ‘ sycamore’ nuts. thinking we were taking home something exotic.!
‘They sure taste like peanuts’, my husband said which caused me to go on the internet.
I cracked up when I read comments on your post. Thanks for sharing. But , as someone mentioned, the tour guide or maybe the organizer should give their groups a headsup.
Haha, for sure! Thanks for commenting and helping spread the word about this scam 😉
Hilarious! They’re so delicious. Does anyone know how to make them or where to buy them?