I'll give it my best try - maybe borrow a lathe that can handle it from
some fellow woodturner.

I have to say though, that my part of Israel was never a desert. It was
always a rich and beatifull country, even more than now since in the
previous centuries (1800s and 1900s) the Turkish and British empires
destroyed all the beautifull natural forests that existed, the other
trees besides the olives you see in the background are pine trees in
man planted forests - in this case the Ben-Shemen national forest which
is the largest in Israel.

There are of course places in Israel in which there was a desert before
and now you see a lot of agriculture, but when you look around you
still see a desert, with a few fields in the middle, very impressive
indeed - but Israel hasn't realy achieved Tera-Forming yet... :-(

On another note: you should visit your relatives, I assure you, you
will have a good time, and I can give you some of the Olive to take
back in your suitcase...