Golan - Part I

This summer we holidayed in the Golan Heights, Israel’s mountainous northern region. We've been there several times before, but it's such a beautiful area full of nature reserves, historic and archaeological sites, and attractions for the whole family, that we were all very happy to return. The beauty of the Golan is so captivating that I took, ahem, many photos. I'm going to break my posts up and show you a few of the wonderful places we visited each time.

The Hexagon Pool, Breichat HaMeshushim, is a natural pool in the Yehudiya Nature Reserve, located in the central Golan Heights. The pool, at the bottom of a canyon, is named after the shape of the basalt pillars that make up its walls. This geological formation, which actually looks as if a modern sculptor has carved them, was created by the slow cooling of layers of lava flows over a long period of time. When the lava solidified and cooled, it was split into polygonal shapes due to its contraction.
The 30 minute downhill walk to the pool was wonderful, though coming back up was of course less fun! Going down the cliff on the marked trail, we could hear the roar of the water before we saw it. We reached a wooden bridge from which we could see water frothing through the narrow canyon below. The bridge leads to the Yehudiya Forest and the Zavitan Stream along a trail recommended for experienced hikers only, and only in the morning. Instead we continued a few more metres to the Hexagon Pool.

The pool is fed by cold mountain rivers rushing down from Mount Hermon and was icy cold! Swimming in it was truly a unique experience. The water was not clear, but I'm told that it's perfectly clean, and small fish accompanied me in the water. The landscape of hexagonal columns was superb!
After the hike back up, I took a short walk to see a prehistoric dolmen (a large burial monument built by the ancient residents of the Golan), close to the entrance of the reserve. The small structure consists of a large, rough basalt boulder placed like a giant tabletop over smaller stones. The name dolmen comes from the ancient Breton language; dol means "table" and men means "stone." There are hundreds of them scattered across the northern and central Golan, though I still find them intriguing enough to search out, even after an exhausting climb!

The Tel Saki outpost, with its trenches and bunkers, rusting machine guns and an old Centurion tank, is located in the Southern Golan Heights near the Syrian-Israeli border, below. It was the site of one of the most critical battles of the Yom Kippur War. Attacked by 11,000 Syrian infantry soldiers, 900 tanks and countless armoured vehicles, 60 paratroopers and 45 tanks held off the Syrian army with determination and immense bravery for three days.
A small core of soldiers was in the trenches at the top of Tel Saki when the battle began. In a short time they began to run low on ammunition. Two unsuccessful attempts to rescue the soldiers or reinforce the unit were attempted, and more lives were lost. A third rescue attempt was finally successful, and the Syrians begin to retreat.
35 soldiers lost their lives in this battle, three were taken as prisoners of war, and almost everyone else was injured. A memorial at Tel Saki honours them.

The absolute highlight of our trip was when we got to explore the Golan Heights on an ATV buggy! Starting at Kibbutz Merom Golan, where we met our guide, we sped off, with Mister Handmade in Israel in the driver's seat, to explore Israel’s most remote and beautiful region.

We drove off-road through the kibbutz fields, enjoying amazing views of Israel’s tallest peak, Mount Hermon, and Mount Bental and Mount Avital. We passed mountains, forests and fruit groves, where our guide picked juicy plums straight from the tree. We sped along tank roads, and drove through abandoned Syrian buildings, before arriving at a derelict Syrian army building in the U.N. controlled zone on the Israel side of the Israel Syrian border. There we got out of our little 4-seater vehicle and climbed the rickety stairs to the roof of the building, where our guide told us all about the history and politics of the Golan, from the past to today. Standing on the roof looking into Syria was an eye-opening experience. We were riveted by our guide's stories, and all of us learned a great deal about the Golan, the spy Eli Cohen, the Arab-Israeli Conflict, and the Six-Day War.

Driving back we passed an ancient cemetery surrounded by 600 year old oak trees, before ascending back to 3000 feet, to Kibbutz Merom Golan, through more of the regions muddy tracks. The ride had been extremely fun and occasionally intense. We laughed. I screamed. We had all been educated. It was an experience not to be missed!

As soon as the tour was over, my teenager and pre-teen asked if we could do it all again. What more can I say?

Afterwards we made a return visit to Mount Bental, which is maintained by Kibbutz Merom Golan, the first Kibbutz to be established in the area following the 1967 Six-Day War. Atop the mount is a now disused Israeli army outpost, complete with bunkers, but the main draw for visiting this mountain is the breathtaking views. To the north is Lebanon and Mount Hermon, and to the south, Har Avital, nicknamed "Spy Mountain" because it allegedly houses a high-tech surveillance centre. We were able to see the exact building we had just explored in the UN controlled zone, and behind that the ruins of the town of Kuneitra, Syria’s main Golan town which was lost to Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. Syria briefly recaptured Kuneitra in the course of the fierce fighting that took place in the Golan Heights during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Ultimately, however, the Israelis were the victors and retained possession of the town. Under U.S. pressure, Israel agreed in 1974 to accept a demilitarized zone, monitored by the United Nations, between the disputed borders of Syria and Israel in the Golan Heights. The official name for this demilitarized zone is the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force Zone. This agreement required Israel to withdraw from Kuneitra.

It was time for an ice cream break, and time for us to clean ourselves up from the dust we were covered in after our off-road, high-speed experience.

More posts will follow about our incredible time in the Golan Heights.