TEL AVIV, February 21 (RIA Novosti) – Israeli President Shimon Peres received on Thursday an unusual early birthday present in the form of a larger-than-life portrait etched in a wheat field, the presidential press service said.

The enormous work of art featuring an image of Peres and the figure 90 (to mark his 90th birthday on August 2) covers 25 hectares near Kibbutz Tel Yosef in north-eastern Israel.

The president was treated to the present while flying over the area on board a helicopter.

"I worked these fields and now I'm flying above them,” the press service quoted him as saying. “This is to go back to one’s roots.”

The portrait was commissioned by Kibbutz Tel Yosef and created by artist Peter Weiner, who specializes in giant field sketches.

Peres will have the major birthday celebration in June hosting his Facing Tomorrow conference in Jerusalem, which is expected to be attended by many world leaders.