I am interested in information and perhaps cuttings from fig varieties that are indigenous to the Middle East.  Cutting to the chase I am most interested in those varieties that grow in Israel, Syria, the Sinai Peninsula, Lebanon, and Jordan.  What I would like to know first are the names and aliases of figs that are known to be indigenous to these regions.  I do not mean figs that are imported to these regions that thrive, I mean figs that have been there throughout the centuries dating back hopefully to ancient times.  I want to know what these figs may be called today in America, if they are in circulation that is, which is unlikely I suppose but maybe not.  I also want to inquire if anyone knows of varieties in this region which are proven to have a level of cold hardiness?  Ultimately I have an interest in growing them in the ground in zone 7a. I am excited to learn more on this topic, and appreciative of all who have time to post!

BTW I am already familiar with this pdf :) http://figs4fun.com/links/FigLink006f.pdf by Daniel Yakir.

Here is some info
http://www.treesofjoy.com/content/fig-varieties-middle-east

That was informative to some degree. I wonder if anyone else has experience with Middle Eastern varieties?

Hi
Look at my topics and youl find some of them.
Also Bass has alot of varieties.

Enjoy this clip showing Sbayi.

I wonder if the terrain is generally rocky or they put the rocks to reflect the light to the lower shaded branches?

These are some Turkish common figs and these are all their real names

Siyah Orak (2 crops)
Beyaz Orak ( breba only rare fig and very prolific )
The rest is main only
Haci Osoman
Siyah Kis( Very Rare)
Siyah Type 208 ( Rare)
Yediveran (Rare)
Patlican ( purple there is no green)
Beyaz Gus
Torasan (Rare)
Kavak
Terme
Mersin Mut

In Palestine the best fig variety is the Sbayi. The Khortmani, Swadi and Khdari are most common, but still a very good fig varieties.
In Palestine almost all figs trees are in rocky places. They receive very little water, so the quality of the figs is excellent.
I've also been in Jordan several times, but they don't have good quality figs as Palestine or Israel as far as I know. I tested some figs over there and the quality is ok, but not exceptional.
Note: Palestine and Israel share almost the same fig varieties.

That's all I can say about figs in the middle east. I which I could tell you about the figs in Egypt or Lebanesse Figs...

Excellent info, I am on the hunt for cuttings.  Do you have any idea about the cold tolerance of Sbayi?

Very interested to follow this discussion, esp. with respect to Syrian, Jordanian and Lebanese varieties

There are many varieties already in this country that came with immigrants from the Middle East. I have been collecting them for years, for the most part they're somewhat cold hardy and many have survived our climate for many years. Many varieties that I'm finding here lost their local name but I'm still finding ones that have kept its original names. 
I have introduced many and I still have several varieties that I haven't introduced yet, some that are very promising. 

What varieties do you recommend that are known?  Can you make a few recommendations?