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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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