The Golan, and What Happened After (Along with a Ton of Pictures)

July 8th, 2008 Palestine Monitor Office, Ramallah, the West Bank
Anna, Rachel, and Jonathan picked me up around 9 in front of the New Gate and we sped off through Jerusalem. We got a little lost on our way, but we were soon heading out through Area C of the West Bank on an Israeli road. Our car was searched by a really large dog at a checkpoint, but since we didn’t have any drugs, guns, or explosive devices, we were allowed to pass. We ate lunch in Bet She’an and bought some groceries for the weekend before continuing on our trek north. We made a short stop in Tiberias at a camping store and fruit market and then made our way to Yehudiya National Reserve, northeast of the Sea of Galilee.

As far as I know, Yehudiya contains nothing of extreme ancient historical significance, but the park is a beautiful nature reserve, and we just wanted to hike. We walked through the destroyed Arab village of Sheikh Hussein and descended into a steep valley, soon surrounded by trees and stepping from boulder to boulder. We came across a small pool down in a niche and took some time to cool off by leaping into the water. We journeyed out on a different path, which led us to some large pools through which we actually had to swim in order to get out. The larger pool, approximately thirty meters across, was lined by rock cliffs and was too deep to wade. A nine-meter-high ladder was bolted to the stone on the other side next to a waterfall. We put all the cameras in one backpack and I swam across, carrying the bag high above my head. I returned to grab the other backpack. I couldn’t resist the opportunity, so after I climbed the ladder and set the bags down, I descended about halfway and leapt from the ladder into the deep pool. After our little adventure, we found our way back to the destroyed village and out of the park.

We went north and got lost on a little dirt road on the bank of the Jordan River in the Hula Valley, which is a beautiful place to be lost. People were camping and cooking on the green slopes next to the water as the sun went down over the hills to our left. Eventually, we discovered a way back to the main road through a little trail on a farmer’s field. And then we went on into the Golan Heights.

(written at the Masyoun Flat)
The Golan is a mountainous region, reminiscent of the highlands of Scotland, and I was glad to be back among the mountains. Israel took this area from Syria in 1967 during the Six Day War. Most of the people who lived there were forced out by the military. Vacated bunkers and hillsides sectioned off by wire fences and signs warning the presence of active landmines evidenced the wars that have occurred in the Golan. We passed Banias (Caesarea Philippi) and Tel Dan, moving up through Neve Ativ and down into the Arab town of Majdal Shams. Lebanon and Syria were clearly visible as we drove.

We searched high and low for a camping site, driving aimlessly around Lake Ram and through a Druze town. The Druze are considered an offshoot of Islam, though they believe in reincarnation. They are set apart by their distinct clothing (the men wear white turbans) and one of their most holy sites is the tomb of Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses. Eventually, we found a spot on the side of the road. A hiking path ended at the parking lot and down among some trees we found a fire pit and flat ground underneath the branches. Unfortunately, militaristic mosquitoes attempted to annex our faces and kept us awake for most of the night. Hyenas, or quite possibly, jackals, provided a disturbing lullaby for us just a few feet away from where we spread our sleeping bags. I kept a pile of rocks next to my head.

We were alive the next morning, but severely wounded after the battle with the mosquitoes. Arising early, we drove to mythic Nimrod Castle, which sits on the peak of a hill much like the Rock of Cashel in Ireland. No one is exactly sure when the fortress was constructed, some saying 1129 and others 1218, but the name comes from the biblical character Nimrod, one of the Nephilim, who, according to legend, once lived on the hilltop.

The only other people there were two guys working at the site and two United Nations guys in fatigues taking in the expansive view of the Golan. We spent several hours climbing through the castle, descending into dark dungeons and peering out the narrow windows into the valleys. We stopped next at the Banias waterfall, but Jonathan and I didn’t go inside because it was fairly expensive, and I had been seven years ago. Anna had a pass that allowed her to get two people into all the national parks for free, so she and Rachel ran down to take a look.

We returned in the direction of the Sea of Galilee, stopping off to see an isolated church along the way. Near Katzrin, we found a destroyed village off the main road. A portion of the mosque’s roof had collapsed, but the minaret was still accessible. I may never get to climb a minaret again. From the top, the village looked like a deserted town from a Western film. The cool breeze shook the tall grass that was growing out of the ruined buildings scattered throughout the field. None of the homes had any roofs. Fences with landmine signs sectioned off the far side of the village. The stillness of the place was almost eerie, but strangely relaxing. I wondered what life was like here fifty years ago before it was ruined.

I ran down the dirt road through the center of the village and explored some of the buildings. I entered a two-storey building that stood alone and climbed to the top of the wall using bullet holes. The roof had been blown off, so I reclined on the foot-and-a-half ledge of the wall, gazing out over the quietness that sifted through the decaying structures. I walked back to the mosque and sat at the top for a little while before we left. I really want to know what the name of the village was, and what happened there.

We fought the waves on the Sea of Galilee for a while, cooling off after the heat of the day. We spent some time sitting on the rocks listening to the water until the sun started to go down. The four of us watched the sunset from a spot near Kursi (or Gergesa), where supposedly the demon-possessed pigs ran off into the lake below. Tradition claims that this is the spot because of the topography: the cliff is the only one in the vicinity of Gergesa. The story in Mark 5 can be seen as a very symbolic one. The interesting fact that pigs are roaming the hillsides of a predominantly Jewish area seems a little out of place, perhaps representing the Romans. And their plunge into the sea (not the lake) could perhaps be seen as a desire for them to return to their home across the sea. Jimmy, one of the guides on the tour, said it was one of the first written references to deviled ham.

We found a great camping spot on Gofra Beach. Palm trees lined the sand and the lights of Tiberias crawled over the hill on the opposite shore. We discovered a wide piece of something like Astroturf that served well as a place to throw down our sleeping bags. We fell asleep to the sound of waves on Lake Kinneret.

(written July 9th, 2008 Palestine Monitor Office, Ramallah, the West Bank)
I woke up sweaty and the new home of a small colony of ants that had migrated onto my body sometime during the night. I took a shower and sent the ants on a new adventure, and the four of us headed east to Gamla Nature Reserve.

The sky was overcast and the wind was cool, and it was very refreshing. I like cool, overcast days. For some reason, I’m drawn to rainy, gray weather over dark, vast landscapes. Perhaps it’s the British in me. But I do love sunshine and blue skies and white clouds and green, so I’m not a total loss.

Gamla has several hiking paths, and we went along most of them. We passed through a fifty-century Arab village onto a wide plain of pale grass and stone pulled out toward hills in the distance. The sun turned some of the gray-blue clouds into faded white. We walked between the dolmens, a series of miniature Stonehenges that served as gravestones for the nomads who roamed the region 4,000 years ago. The path led across a bridge covered in flowers and wound around a ridge, providing a view back at a waterfall cascading through green attached to the rock face. Griffon vultures soared over the canyon, flapping their massive wings as they spun around one another. We took another trail back through the old village that followed the edge of the cliffs and then veered off to the path that went down to the ancient Jewish village.

The remains of the town sat atop a plateau that rose out a valley surrounded by high slopes, similar to Edoras in The Lord of the Rings. The whole park had a somewhat Middle-earth feel, and our Lonely Planet guidebook agreed. Plaques along the pathway related parts of Josephus’ account of the struggle that took place at Gamla in AD67. Several thousand Jews were killed, or committed suicide by jumping from the peak of the village. The story sounded a little too much like Masada, which is extremely controversial. Whatever happened there, the citizens of the town certainly had an incredible view. The plateau drops into a steep valley, which crawls between the mountains far away to the Sea of Galilee. We sat on the summit for a little while. I’ve sat in some pretty remarkable places, and I thoroughly enjoy doing it.

We began the drive back to Jerusalem, stopping briefly at the naturally-heated springs of Gan HaSlosha. Rachel and Jonathan went to explore another swimming area, so Anna and I used her park pass. My family and I had visited Sachne (Arabic for warm) seven years ago, and it was a little less naturally-heated than I remembered. People were barbecuing and picnicking all across the green lawn, which shored the series of large natural pools connected by waterfalls. We only had a short amount of time to swim before meeting in the parking lot and moving south to Jerusalem.

They dropped me off near the Damascus Gate and I headed through the Old City to Jaffa Gate where I changed some money. My wallet was devoid of shekels, which happen to come in handy around here. I stopped by Mahmoud’s shop and said hello before catching a bus to Ramallah. Adam was the only at the flat, because Sean was stuck in Ni’lin under military curfew. The Israeli military moved in on Friday and took over the town, not allowing anyone to come outside or to enter or exit the village. The soldiers invaded many homes, breaking furniture and beating people. They fired on the houses with rubber-coated bullets and live rounds, tossing teargas canisters and sound grenades through the broken windows. Dozens of people were severely injured.

Adam and I wandered through Ramallah looking for Kirsty’s house, which we eventually found. We had been invited to dinner. Her husband José, who works for a Spanish NGO, and their dog Livingston greeted us at the door. Adam and I were given the task of starting the grill and cooking the food. I made campfires every weekend at school, so we handled it pretty well. I enjoyed sitting next to the fire, smelling the food as it slowly heated over the coals. I was definitely ready to eat once everything was done. The small dinner turned into a lively party. A large number of Spanish-speakers were present, and I wished that I had gained more from my two years of Spanish at Harding. Maybe I’ll go to language school in Guatemala. We had a lot of fun hanging out and talking with people. We were there till past eleven before we borrowed a few DVDs and returned to our flat.

Our new editor, Berenice from Belgium, was at the office the next morning. She worked as a volunteer with the Palestine Monitor last year. She bought lunch for Adam and me at Osama’s and we discussed upcoming stories. Berenice seems like a really nice person, committed to her new job, and she will be living at the flat with us. That night, I went to the basketball court at the community center and watched a tournament, visiting with some of the kids. I wasn’t able to play that night, but it was fun hanging out with some of the people.

I spent part of Tuesday at the office, but I finally got tired of being inside and left for Ni’lin. The soldiers left the village early in the morning. People were out in the streets cleaning up the mess left by the military. Stone walls were overturned and the streets were stained black from teargas canisters. Buildings and windows were decorated with bullet holes. I walked around looking for Sean, going to the home of Hindi’s family, but they said he had already left. The pharmacist, Majdi Hanieh, who had I had met before, invited me into his store and he told me about the harrowing past four days. Majdi told me that five men had snuck into the mosque to pray. Israeli soldiers found them and dragged them outside, forcing them to strip and blindfolding them. They then beat them with their belts and took pictures using their cell phones. I met one of the five men outside of the pharmacy as I waited for a service to Ramallah. The village took the day to rest and to rebuild, but the next day they were going to begin protesting the Wall once again.

I returned to Ramallah, and some guy on the service paid for my fare. Maxie and Felix were packing all of their things when I got back. They had spent the last week in Jordan renewing their visas, but something went wrong so they had to go to Tel Aviv in order to figure out what to do. I helped them take their things downstairs and said goodbye. Sean arrived later that afternoon, disheveled and tired. He had done a lot of running and hiding and sneaking the last few days. He crashed on his bed pretty soon after he walked in the door.

(written July 10th, 2008 Palestine Monitor Office, Ramallah, the West Bank)
I spent Wednesday in the office writing a story about student prisoners (which can read at this link: ). Later in the afternoon, I went into Jerusalem and sat in Mahmoud’s shop for around an hour, visiting and drinking orange juice. I then got a bus to Bethlehem and hiked up the long hill to Anna and Rachel’s flat. I noticed new graffiti on the Wall as I walked past: “Jesus died so that all men and women could be free”; “Wars are poor chisels for carving out a peaceful tomorrow”; “Micah 6:8 (read it, do it!)”; and “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only Love can do that”- MLK.

I was invited into a man’s shop just around the corner from the girls’ flat and I visited with him for a few minutes until Anna got back from Arabic class. The three of us talked about crazy and amazing future dreams and aspirations until Jonathan joined us a little while later and we watched The Office on the roof.

I stayed the night at Bethlehem Bible College and awoke early to return to Ramallah. The line at the checkpoint was incredibly wrong, so I backtracked and got another bus that went through Beit Jala to Jerusalem. Berenice was just entering the office when I arrived.

I find it hard to believe that I only have a week-and-a-half left, and it will be busy. All the goodbyes will take a week. Tomorrow, we leave for the Jordan and will spend the weekend at Petra.