Golan Heights

On the Golan Heights, Yom Kippur, 1973 - Syria invaded

Israel on the holiest day of the year with an overwhelming advantage in tanks, artillery and men.  The Israeli army held on at great sacrifice. One of the greatest tank battles in history played out in the Emek HaBakha Valley commemorated now as the Valley of Tears.  At a war memorial, we listened to a recording of a tank commander's radio communication while he was surrounded by Syrian forces. Although in Hebrew, we could feel the tension in his voice. For a detailed description of the battle click
War on the Golan. 


Our time on the Golan was, in contrast, serene with the exception of our wild ride in TOM CAR ATV's from
Kibbutz Merom Golan  to an old Syrian "hospital" near the border. We kicked up a lot of dust and made some noise! The "hospital" building, now abandoned, was actually a Syrian weapons depot and command post. We were right on the border about the time Israel bombed Syria to destroy weapons destined for Hezbollah.  But all was peaceful on the border.


Before the Six Day War, Syrian forces shelled the Hula Valley at will forcing children to sleep in bomb shelters. But the more serious issue was Syria's attempt to cut off two of the three sources of water for the Sea of Galilee, the only water supply for Israel at the time.  The water orginates in the Golan Heights.

Much of the Golan Heights looks like West Texas, good land for cattle.  Now that Israel controls the Golan Heights,  farms have blossomed on the land. Later, after touring a winery we had lunch at an olive oil factory here.

The next day we traveled North through the heights to Birket Ram, a Druze village, for lunch. We had Falafel, ground and fried chickpeas, in a pita with salad and humus. Yum! After lunch, we turned East to Banias - also known as Caesarea Philippi.  More about that later.