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The tree is the common theme for all religions believing
in a single god. Its fruit which is believed to bring immortality,
is forbidden to all mortals when the serpent waiting the tree had
convinced Eve to eat it. Mankind, unable to eat the fruit of immortality,
put all their hopes on the life after death symbolized by a tree
of life.
Different cultures have used different plants such
as cypress, date, palm, pomegranate, fig, olive, wine, beech and
oak to symbolize the tree of life. In Anatolia the prominent figure
is a cypress tree. The birds on the tree of life is a widely used
theme. They are the birds of life which will fly when the time comes.
This theme is also used on the gravestones. Illustrations below
display various tree of life motifs in Anatolia:
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