17.4. The Golan: Susita, Bental Mountain, Nimrod, Kineret

Today we drove up to the Golan. Ezra recommended Susita National Park to us, an archeological site east of the Kineret. Up in the mountain there are the ruins of the old Greco-Roman city "Hippo", which was abandonded after an earthquake in 749. The remains of this place with old roads, houses, columns and mosaic floors are surrounded by an impressive nature and happy cows. We were alone up there, there was no tourism, no entrance fee, not even a proper road. Thank you Ezra, this place was amazing!

The next stop was in Mount Bental in the north-eastern part of the Golan Heights, 1171 m above sea level. From up there you have an amazing panoramic view of the Golan and Syria and even a glimps back into the past as you can walk into the bunkers from the Yom Kippur War. It's the site of one of the largest tank battles ever, which was miraculously won by the Israelis with their small force of 160 tanks, the Syrians attacked with 1500 tanks of which 900 were destroyed. The bloody battle is remembered in the name of the valley below - the Valley of Tears. Artists have created all sorts of sculptures from the remains of the tanks. 

view to the south

 into Syria

                                                                            to the west

lunch in a Druse village

Spontaneously we decided to visit Nimrod Fortress, a medieval castle on the southern slopes of Mount Hermon, overlooking the Golan on 800 m above sea level. This massive fortress complex was built around 1229 by a son of Saladin and it was abandoned in the 16th century. The boys had fun climbing in those ancient ruines and discovering secret rooms and corridors. 

                                      

On the way back we stopped at the Kineret to test the water temperature and consider the option of a quick swim. The shore had moved up after all that rain. Unfortunately the shores are mostly very dirty with lots of rubbish and plastic stuff - not very inviting. The temperature was around 20 degree.

Long drive - but all worth it!