Syria has been in the news for the last few weeks, so I have been thinking about being near the Syrian border last year when I visited Israel.

I looked back at the post, North of Galilee, that I wrote that day to see if I mentioned the stop that we made.

I found that I only mentioned that we had returned from Banias to Tiberias through the Golan Heights.

As we were driving through the Golan Heights we stopped at a scenic overlook and were able to look across the border into Syria. In the picture above you can see a large reservoir of water. We were told that the primary purpose of the reservoir was to holds water to keep it from flowing into the Golan Heights and Israel.

Closer to the overlook was a field with a herd of horses. If you look closely you can see a colt hiding behind its mother. The field was very close to the border and it gives you reassurance that life goes on even when you live on the border between two countries that are at enmity.

In the parking lot of the scenic overlook there was a Druze who was selling jars of honey, jam and also apples. The Druze are known for their apple production in the Golan Heights. You will see them selling them in many places along the way.

We bought some apples and they were very good.

I also just remembered that some of the apple cores were fed to the nearby horses when we were finished.

If you look closely you will see the distinctive dress of the Druze. The Druze men wear very distinctive baggy pants. They actually look very comfortable.

The Druze live on both sides of the border in this region. The majority of the Druze live in Syria, but there is also a large population in the Golan Heights and in Lebanon.

Before we boarded the bus to continue our trip I took a few pictures with my camera on maximum zoom. In the picture above we can see a large Syrian Flag flying on a tall flag pole. You can also make out some of the military and religious buildings if you look closely.

In this last view we see how serious they are about the border between Syria and the Golan Heights. Here you see a very well maintained security fence with cleared areas on both sides.

The border has been very disruptive to the the Druze population as it is very difficult for them to cross the border to see relatives or friends. They have a place called the Shouting Hill where they can stand about 400 meters away from each other and shout back and forth.

I hope that you enjoyed this little look into Syria.

Steven