one day during rosh hashana my classmates diana, becky, cherec and i went on a circa-israel roadtrip! we started by watching the sun rise from beer sheva’s favorite hilltop war of indepedence monument. then we drove up along the edge of the dead sea, and decided to make a random stop in the palestinian city of jericho. we bought some falafels and fruit, and chanced upon the mount of temptation, believed to be the location where Jesus was tempted by the devil. jericho is also famous as the city that the ancient israelites marched around… and around… and around… and then the walls fell down. today it goes by the tagline: “oldest city in the world. 10 000 years.” we also found a seemingly ownerless camel, who was gracious enough to patiently pose for many pictures with us! thanks camel! camels are my favorite animal, definitely!
then we continued north, right along the israeli-jordanian border and the jordan river (although these days its more like a trickle). at one point i was driving and decided to take a one way in the wrong direction. all of a sudden: flashing lights and siren: oh no. the cop asked where we were from. “america.” to that he said: “never mind then, enjoy the rest of your morning!” nice, eh! this gave me something of a feeling of invincibility, which translated into what i was quickly informed was an excessively aggressive driving style. sorry ladies! eventually we arrived at the sea of galilee, or kinneret in the vernacular. it is actually a lake, not a sea. famous for us christians! interestingly, it is also the lowest freshwater lake in the world. we went swimming amongst throngs of israelis. yofi tofi (hebrew for very nice)!
we then headed further north into the golan heights, which is territory that israel conquered from syria during the six day war of 1967. it is called the heights because it is at a much higher elevation that any of the surrounding area. we were going to go hiking, but the national park was just about to close. so we kept heading north, all the way to mount bental, where there are expansive views of syria (on the other side of a united nations-patrolled buffer zone). we could also see mount hermon, home of the levant’s only outdoor ski hills! there are also old army bunkers to explore on top of mount bental. the golan is full of fields of landmines, marked by “do not enter” signs. there are also old abandoned tanks along the sides of the road, one of which we played in for a while.
we continued north, through verdant vineyards and apple orchards, to two druze towns called mas’ada and majdal shams. the druze are a fascinating pseudo-islamic mystical sect/ethnicity, most of whom live in syria and lebanon, with some in israel. the israeli druze are actually famously unique for their valiant and committed service in the israeli defense forces, choosing to support the state of israel (in sharp contrast to the more typical arab perspective). the towns are amazing – they are built up the sides of mountains – you’d never guess you were in israel! we found the border fence with syria where the townsfolk apparently use megaphones to communicate news with their estranged family members on the other side of the buffer zone (because they can’t travel back and forth).
we then descended into the galilee valley, passing through pristine alpine towns and past nimrod’s castle, which is precipitously perched on the top of a mountain. deciding that the day wouldn’t be complete without a glimpse of at least one more country, we headed north to the border with lebanon at metula! this border is also sealed shut – israel and lebanon were at war as recently as 2006. but the road goes right up to the border; road signs still intact and everything! and wow, metula is a glitzy little town. probably the most affluent town i’ve ever seen in israel. coincidentally, it is also the home of the “canada centre,” a rec-plex that contains israel’s largest skating rink and is the home of the israeli national ice hockey team. yeah!
then we headed home, through tiberias, haifa and tel aviv. the rest of the galilee will have to wait for another time- we are medical students, not tourists, after all 🙂
