The Prophet's Mosque, built in Madina around 630 CE, was made almost entirely of palms: the columns and beams of the trunks, and the thatching and prayer mats of the leaves. The date palm figures in the national emblem, representing vitality and growth. The palm trees bear fruit 5 to 6 times a year and there exist over 170 different varieties. • Saudi Arabia has approximately nine million, or one-tenth, of the world's productive dates palms. Many of the date orchards in Al-Hasa and Qatif date back several centuries.Some of the 2,000,000 palm trees in those orchards have been yielding fruit for close to 80 years. Several date palms in Saudi Arabia have reached the age of 200 and are still fruiting. __
