Hello Steemians
Well I did get into some lengthy discussions following my last post on Israel so I thought I might share some more of our travels in this surprisingly diverse country.
It's no secret if you have been following my adventures that Israel wasn't really high on my list of places to go. Even though I was the one raised with the religious doctrine - it was @cryptoandzen that was really keen to explore the Holy Lands. For the first few days all I'd pretty much seen was desert - and off the back of Morocco, Egypt and Jordan.. well - it was just more desert.
@cryptoandzen however promised me if we were to travel to the northern parts of Israel there would be lush green vegetation and beautiful springs and waterfalls. He knew he'd convinced me though when he said there was also Pan's Temple. I am a sucker every-time for Greek mythology!
So it was, that I was sent off (as chief planner of holidays and holiday activities) to organise a trip to a place called The Golan Heights - it was ringing some bells way in the back of my head.
So as all good research starts with Google - here was the first entry:
Weekend clashes along the Israeli-Syrian border between Israeli forces and pro-Palestinian protesters put the spotlight on the Golan Heights, a Syrian territory that Israel has controversially occupied for more than four decades.
I said to @cryptoandzen that I was pretty sure we'd wiped Syria off our itinerary. He said it's not really Syria... I think the Syrians might disagree just a tad - anyway he didn't think it could be any worse than us crossing the wall into the Westbank.... He has a unique way of trying to make me feel better!
Ironically it was actually me who was disappointed with not going to Syria originally - we'd originally planned to see Damascus and the tomb of Saladin and Krak de Cheveliers and Palmrya. Alas we were probably a year to late and sadly some of these places have felt the effects of War.
Politics around the Golan Heights (and usually anything concerning Israel) is far from simple, but here's an overly simplified version (so if you are a political or history buff this is the "for dummies" version) The French handed over ownership in 1946 to Syria. Israel occupied two thirds of the area since between 1967 and the start of the Syrian Civil War while Syria still maintained control over the other 3rd - with the UN sticking a buffer in between (Like mum sticking a row of pillows between two kids to stop them fighting) Israeli settlements then popped up in the territory and while these are condemned and viewed as illegal by the international community and technically is still sovereign Syrian territory.
As you can imagine - this leads to a LOT of contention. And when we are told to stay on th road or on the marked path when hiking in the area they are not kidding!
So the long and short of that is - at the beginning of the Syrian civil war it was pretty hard to find an organised tour to take a couple of silly tourists up there. As it turned out Aussies are not the only silly tourists wanting to visit Israels hotspots... Canadians come in a pretty close second and we teamed up with a Canadian couple also keen to have a look at the promised Oasis in the north of Israel.
Just as we decided the only way we were going to get it done was to hire a car and drive ourselves we found a cab driver happy to relieve us of $500 US for a day of driving us wherever we wanted.
Starting out early, day packs full of our Lonely Planet guides, snacks and plenty of water and of course our Passports (don't go anywhere in Israel with out it.. there are that many checkpoints, especially when you are driving up and down the country) we set off on the 3 1/2 hour trip to Hermon Stream Nature Reserve (Banias Springs). Let me say that passing through the checkpoints is a vastly different experience when doing it privately as opposed to part of a tour group. Or maybe our taxi driver looked a bit dodgy? Random checkpoints are common and they will often ask to see a passport. Every now and then though they pull you off the road, search the car, pat you down and go through all your bags. Well what did I expect - we always get the security checks at the airport!
Finally we made our destination and it was still relatively early in the day as we had plans to go further on to Mt Nebo and then see Galilee on the way back.
The nature reserve was in fact everything @cryptoandzen had promised - just keep looking towards the side with the falls and river, stay on the path and you almost don't notice the land-mine warning signs!
Banias springs comes from the foot of Mt Hermon, flowing through a canion until it reaches 30 ft Banis Waterfall and eventually runs into the Jordan River. Originally the site was named Panias after the Greek God Pan. The remains of the temple and Pan's grotto can still be seen today.
While the spring looks cool and inviting especially during a hot Israeli summer, swimming or even wading in the water is forbidden in an effort to protect the fragile ecosystem.
While there are several trails through the reserve we took the riverside path, 1 and a half to two hours - but its one way and you'll need your car to pick you up at the other end so it does pay off to get a driver for the day.
Trail 1 – From the Springs Parking Lot to the Crusader city and back (45 minutes)
Trail 2 – From the Palace of Agrippa II to the Underground Passages and back to the Springs Parking Lot (45 minutes)
Trail 3 – From the Springs Parking Lot to the Banias Waterfalls (90 minutes)
Trail 4 – From the Falls Parking Lot to the Banias Waterfalls and back (45 minutes)
After the constant desert surrounds of our last couple of months of travel this really was an Oasis. Lush and green, I was entirely surprised to see such a place in Israel and it was well worth the effort it had taken us to get there.
I hope you enjoyed this adventure and stay tunes for the next one when we are still tripping around the Golan Heights exploring a place called Nimrod!
I hope you feel inspired to get out and see this beautiful rock we live on and share your adventures.
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!steemitworldmap 33.2472479 lat 35.6937038 long Banias Springs - D3SCR