Trips

Fri., 1/27/23 - Golan Heights

The Golan Heights consist of very valuable arable land in the Middle East. This land gets the most rain of anywhere in Israel and the soil is mainly volcanic ash with lots of minerals like iron. There are 183 reservoirs used for irrigation from collected rain and snow melt. We drove past many fields growing crops such as alfalfa, and fruit orchards. As we drove north and got closer to the Syrian border, the fields were empty. Not even cows grazing on the rock strewn land because of land mines set by Israelis or Syrians during their border wars of 1967 and 1973. The mines are difficult to find and detonate because detectors don’t work because the iron in the soil sets them off.

Our group stopped at a kibbutz in Meram Golan and transferred to three four-wheel land rovers to drive out into the military zone which is like the Korean DMZ. Our drivers were all military reservists who were friends of the area commander. Our path took us through one of the tank trenches, which are deep ditches dug by Israel that tanks cannot cross without bulldozing rubble into the trench or laying a bridge across it.

Land mine warning signs are all over	Sculpture at the kibbutz
Ditch to stop and disable tanks	Another land mine warning sign
Rampart	Old artillery
Merkava (Chariot) 4 tank being moved by truck - this tank carries a crew of four - captain, driver, loader, and gunner and can be operated remotely.	Older tank
Mountains in Syria across the buffer zone between Israel and Syria	Syrian village across the buffer zone
Wind farm	Entrance at the base of a wind turbine - gives some perspective on the size of the turbine
Next we drove to look at a three-story concrete building Russia built for Syrian commanders to use against Israel in their wars. We drove further north to the Druze village of Majdal Shams for lunch at a restaurant run by a Druze family. This was followed by a lecture on the Druze religion, way of life, and closed, “undefined nationality.” There are Druze communities all over the world including several in the Golan Heights (four villages). Some families have members still living in Syria right across the border. (Second link.)	Russian-built former Syrian army headquarters
Hillside near the Druze Village of Majdal Shams	Druze Village of Majdal Shams
Druze Village of Majdal Shams	Druze Village of Majdal Shams
Lunch menu	Tile floor at the restaurant
After lunch the group stopped at the "Shouting Hill" where Druze can shout, use a megaphone, or use a cell phone to talk to friends or family across the border of razor wire, barbed wire, and electrified fence that marks the Israeli-Syrian border.	Israeli-Syrian border
Israeli-Syrian border	Looks like the Israeli equivalent of a crow
After the stop at the "Shouting Hill" we returned to our Peace Vista kibbutz.	Nice house
Another nice house	Terraced fields

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