When I started thinking about this trip almost a year ago, I bought a copy of Lonely Planet Israel & the Palestinian Territories and started reading it. I skipped over the section on The Golan, mostly because I had intended to do the trip using mostly public transport and the book made it clear that the Golan was not easy to do by bus. In January I was browsing some websites and saw some pictures of Gamla and Nimrod Fortress, and my curiosity was stirred. I listened to a podcast about Israel (The Amatuer Traveler by Chris Christensen) and his guest (Douglas Duckett, a man I credit with inspiring much of this trip) talked about how easy it was to rent a car and drive around Israel. I still thought it would be prohibitively expensive, but after checking I realized that it would be affordable, but better yet, would allow me to visit some places that I'd previously crossed off my list. The Golan was one of those places.
The heavily guarded border between Israel & Syria
I'd looked forward to the day in the Golan since I shored up my itinerary in March. The Golan has had a rocky history. Fought over by conquering forces since Biblical times, it more recently has been battled over by Israel and Syria. Israel took the territory in 1967 during the Six Day War. When Syria invaded during the Yom Kippur War of 1973, the Syrians almost succeeded in taking the Golan back. Israel annexed it after the 1973 conflict, in a move still not recognized by the United Nations, and one of the primary reasons that Syria still refuses to recognize Israel. The two countries still have no official diplomatic relations. You can not cross between the two nations, and if you have an Israeli stamp in your passport, you are not allowed to enter Syria from anywhere. (This also applies to Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Yemen & the United Arab Emirates). Syria demands the return of the Golan before any peace settlement with Israel can even be discussed. Considering the Golan is the high ground between the two, and that who ever hold that ground has a decided military edge, it's hard for me to see Israel ever seriously considering returning it. Also, since Syria has started three wars with Israel (The Syrians gottheir asses handed to them three times), and still continues to be a supporter of Terrorism against both Israel and it's Western allies, I can't see any reason for Israel to consider giving it back either, even if it means that Syria will not negotiate with them. After seeing the land in person and realizing how beautiful it is, that's all the more reason for Israel to hang on to it.
The site of the upper city of Gamla
Overview of Gamla (Upper & Lower Cities)
My first stop was at Gamla. Gamla is the Hebrew word for camel, and the site was given the name because the hill looked to the first settlers like a camel's hump. The history of Gamla goes back to artifacts found on the hillside from the early Bronze age. It is most famous for being the site of the last fateful stand of the Jews against the Romans in the Great Jewish Revolt of 63-67 AD. The story of Gamla's final days is epic. The Roman had surrounded the city and had vastly superior numbers. The Jewish fighters lured the Roman legions into the lower city having set it up as a trap. The Romans were badly beaten and suffered a great amount of casualties, and the Jews were able to flee into the fortified upper city, hoping that this defeat would dissuade the Romans from attacking the upper city, located higher up the mountain, and in a much harder to take position. The Romans did not give up, instead bringing in more men, including many who had been part of Masada's last stand (more on Masada later in this trip). After many days of battering the upper city's walls, the Romans finally breached walls and poured into the upper city. Knowing that defeat they had handed the Romans earlier in the battle for the lower city would cause the Romans to dispatch them rather than taking them hostage, the citizens and soldiers of Gamla threw their families and themselves off the cliff face, rather than being slayed by the swords of the Romans. Jewish historian Josephus' account claims over 10,000 Jews died in this way, and unlike Masada, there were no survivors. The town was so destroyed so thoroughly that the Romans did not even leave a garrison at the site, as move that was atypical for them.
Gamla today is a nature reserve, especially noted for being a nesting point for the endangered Griffon vulture, a larger scavenger with a wingspan of over nine feet in some cases. I was able to use my zoom lens to get the above picture of this one in flight.
Bullet-hole riddled former Syrian outpost
I drove north into the heart of the Golan. I passed signs of the recent conflicts that had taken place in this area.
The above picture is of the Syrian ghost town of Quneitra, once a thriving town of 30,000, now abandoned after it was destroyed by the Israelis in the 1973 war. The town remains abandoned today because it falls within the territory set aside as no man's land in the armistice that ended the 1973 war.
Mount Hermon, the highest point in Israel, (half in Syria, half in Israel) could also be seen from the Quneitra viewpoint.
Massada (pronuonced Ma-say-day, unlike Masada, Ma-sa-da) is a Druze city in the very upper regions of the Golan. The Druze are an independent, fiercely secretive sect of Shi'ite Muslim, and many of the residents of these towns still consider themselves Syrian citizens. The picture of hillside Massada is taken from Nimrod Fortress. I didn't stop in Massada, the guidebooks gave conflicting reports as to how friendly the residents of Massada and Majdal Shams (the largest Druze town, just to the north) would be to Western outsiders.
Much of the driving in the Golan was on roads like the one seen above- mountainous, with blind turns and no dividing lanes. In most cases this would be mildly unsettling, but throw in the way that Israelis drive (fast and relentless and risky about passing), it made it a little nerve-racking. I was fortunate it was the middle of a weekday and not a weekend or holiday.
Nimrod Fortress, as seen from a hillside 5 km away
My favorite sight of the trip so far has been Nimrod Fortress, a 13th Century castle perched dramatically on a hillside overlooking the Golan and Upper Galilee. I'm not going to spend a lot of time describing Nimrod's history because the sources still dispute who built it, who occupied it, and how long it was occupied, although the last one seems to be until the 1800s when it was destroyed by an earthquake. Instead, I'm going to let the dramatic pictures below do the describing of Nimrod Fortress.
Rock Hyrax, a furry rodent typical of these elevations
A baby rock hyrax
Israeli border post on the Lebanon border, as seen from Nimrod Fortress
My final stop was at Banias Nature Reserve. This lush, green area is right at the foot of the mountain from Nimrod Fortress. It's water source is snowmelt from Mount Hermon and the surrounding mountians. The area contains some of Israel's best hiking, with beautiful springs and waterfalls, as well as some very interesting Roman ruins.
Banias Waterfall
Palace of Agrippa (Herod's Grandson) with Nimrod Fortress on the hill in background
Temple of Pan
Banias Spring
Wrecked vehicle left as memorial to 1973 Yom Kippur War
Sign says "Danger- Do not enter- Unexploded Mines"A Sign you wouldn't see in any American National Park
I'm so happy I rented the car and got to see the Golan Heights. I hope Israel can achieve peace with it's neighbors, but I also hope that the price of that never involves returning the Golan to Syria.
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