Shalom again! I can't believe I am writing the third installment of our Israel trip already. This article will discuss the first half of the second day of the tour, and it will be the areas of Golan Heights and Banias.
But first, some information about Israel. Israel is only 1/6 of 1% of the total land mass of the Middle East. The Israeli currency, the shekel, is the same currency they used in the times of the bible. With more than 3,000 high-tech companies and start-ups, despite it's small size, Israel has the highest concentration of high-tech companies in the world apart from the Silicon Valley in California. Israel is also the ONLY democratic country in the Middle East.
Now, back to the topic. Golan Heights is located in the far north east of Israel, and we came from Tiberias that day, where we spent the night at the Royal Plaza hotel. The place we visited in the Golan is Mount Bental, which is actually the crater of a dormant volcano, and from Tiberias it is only 40 minutes away.
Mt Bental is actually one of two craters of an extinct volcano and stands an impressive 1,171 meters above sea level. Because of its high location, it offers spectacular views like the one we see in this picture.
On a clear day one can see the beautiful Mt Hermon on the north side, but when we were there it was not very clear. It was actually very windy on top and we did not see Mt Hermon that day.
Atop Mt Bental is an old Israeli army outpost, complete with old bunkers that the public can explore to see how soldiers did to defend their country from their enemies.
The old outpost provides a stark insight into what everyday looks like for those in the front lines. In Israel, it is mandatory for its citizens to serve in the army, both boys and girls, when they turn 18, with a few exceptions. Girls serve for two years, and boys for three. After that, they can resume normal life, and choose their careers and whatever else they want to do in life. But first they must serve their country.
From Mt Bental, one can look out into the Kunetra Valley, which means valley of tears. This valley was the location of the bloodiest tank battle during the Yom Kippur War of 1973. At that time, Israel was vastly outnumbered by Syria's tanks, but the Israeli army succeeded against all odds in blocking the Syrian advances.
The battle was the largest tank battles ever and was miraculously won by the Israelis with their small force of 160 tanks. The Syrian army had 1,500 tanks and 1,000 artillery pieces, only to be slowly mowed by the much, much smaller Israeli army. If you don't call this victory a miracle, I don't know what is.
The Israeli army suffered great casualties as well, and by the time the conflict was over, only 7 Israeli tanks were operational. 900 Syrian tanks were destroyed, and the rest turned and fled, leaving the land for the Israelis. To remember the bloody battle, that valley has been named Kunetra, meaning valley of tears.
These are some of the remains of the outpost, and entrance to the site is free of charge, open all day, everyday. It is a place even the locals visit often, for them to realize they all have to face in protecting their homeland.
Most of the bunkers have been cleared out, but old beds and batteries can still be seen, and one can bump into them if not using a flashlight while inside.
Having seen this, I have so much respect for people in uniform, having seen a glimpse, even from just an old outpost, what they go through while in the front lines, and I mean every single person in uniform. The danger, the loneliness from being away from their families, the fear, so many things that they have to go through.
Since it was very dark inside and nobody else wanted to go with me, I just went down a few steps to have this picture taken. I can't even describe the materials used. Reinforced concrete, perhaps?
We could just try to peek from the outside, but of course it was too dark inside. But the pictures just tell the story, without many words needed.
Going up we could see the highways of Israel, and as we saw this, I was reminded of the verse in Isaiah 11 verse 16, 'He will make a highway for the remnant of His people, the remnant coming from Assyria, just as He did for Israel long ago when they returned from Egypt.' The bible does come to life when you're traveling in Israel.
The old bunker is not the only attraction of Mt Bental though. There are also metal sculptures made by the citizens of the kibbutz, which is a community nearby.
There were quite a number of these, but I am only going to share two, but they were all made of scrap metal or iron, I think from the remains of rockets and other materials.
From the top, one can operate a coin operated binocular to see into the Syrian-Israeli border. Syria is actually just 60 miles away.
Before we left, some of us just felt the need to pray for Israel there, and we prayed for their safety, that God will always protect their borders and their land from their enemies.
Here is a signpost that tells the distance in kilometers, if I remember correctly, some of the nearby places in the region and in the country.
Mt Bental does not see a lot of tourists due to its distance from the rest of them, and boy, I was glad we went to see it, and I got to experience and see those things.
From Mt Bental we traveled on to a place called Banias, a site where people in those days worshiped a pagan god called Pan. The name of the place was derived from the name of Pan, and Mendy, our guide, who is seen in the picture, jokingly said the people who named this place got confused with their phonetics. From Pan to Banias. :-)
Why would Christians visit a site where a pagan god was worshiped, you ask. Because this place is also very significant in the bible. It is this backdrop, when idol worship was so prevalent,is the place where Jesus asked His disciples, 'who do people say the Son of Man is?'
Pagan worship was often conducted near running water, a probable reason why Panias, which was later turned to Banias, originally a worship center, was located in the vicinity of the three streams flowing from Mt Hermon.
The disciples then answered that some said he was John the Baptist, others said Elijah, or Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Then Jesus asked another question, 'But who do you say I am?' Then Simon Peter, through a revelation declared, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."
Peter's declaration of Jesus being the Son of the living God challenged the gods in the niches of the cliff and their devotees who worshiped these gods as though they actually existed.
Then Jesus went on to tell Peter that he was blessed, because His Father in heaven revealed this to him, not learning it from any man. And then he declared that he was Peter, meaning rock, as in the rocks in the background, Jesus will build His church, and that the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Peter's former name was Cephas, but on that day, Jesus changed it to Peter, meaning rock.
The thing we are looking at is actually a thing, which, when you roll it in the sand, writes out verses. So there are verses inscribed so that when you roll it, you can read the verses in the sand.
Here we are listening to Mendy explaining the significance of the place. Nothing beats studying the bible in the very place where things happened. Nothing.
For everyone that is curious what a fig tree looks like, this is it. Remember one day Jesus passed a fig tree while he was hungry? Seeing no fruit on it, Jesus said "may no one eat your fruit again", and the next time they passed by it, the disciples exclaimed that the fig tree was dead. You can read this story in the book of Mark, chapter 11.
The source of water for the Jordan river comes from Banias, because the snow that melts from Mt Hermon flows through from here. There was little water when we were there though.
We also saw some locals, and we asked them if we could take a picture with them, and they readily agreed and posed with us.
Wanting to read more? Very exciting stories, eh? I know, I am actually missing Israel right now. Anyways, I will wrap up this article here, and I hope you are as excited as I am waiting for the next installment.
Until then, shalom!
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