DAY 2
Hello Family and Friends!
Day Two of our Israeli adventure has been nothing short of incredible! We woke up at 11 PM...your time!...7 AM here and had a delicious Israeli breakfast! By 8:30 AM, we were on our way to our hike in the Banyes, which is in the Golan--a northern region of Israel. During this two mile (it felt like ten!) trek, we learned about the Kineret (the biblical name for Sea of Galilee) and the surrounding area, which had previously been occupied by the Romans. We saw an old flour mill (which still contained some original mill stones) and beautiful waterfalls, including the highest in Israel. We can't wait to show you our pictures! After the hike, we got back on our bus and headed to a local shopping mall for lunch. With the help of our Israeli friends, we had our first taste of true Israeli schwarma and falafel. It was 17 Shekels, which seemed like a lot of money, but that's only 5 American Dollars!
Our next destination was the Golan Heights; we ascended to the top of Har Bental, a mountain from which we were able to see the Syrian border. This region is critically important to the Israeli miltary, due to its height. In fact, there are bunkers on top of the mountain! We had a discussion about Israel's relationship with Syria and the potential for a peace agreement between these two countries. Many of our Israeli companions were passionate about Israel hanging onto the Golan Heights; it was so interesting to hear their perspectives! Very interestingly, there is another mountain close to Har Bental called Har Avital. These names come from the Hebrew words for son and father; "Ben" is the Hebrew word for "son," and "Avi" is the Hebrew word for "father." Accordingly, Har Avital is a bit taller than Har Bental! The view was beautiful, and it was hard to imagine that this region has often been ravaged by war. We hope our pictures captured the beauty.
We then headed to Mitzpe Gadot, another place from which we could view Syria and the Jordan Valley. There was a beautiful memorial to commemorate the soldiers who gave their lives to fight for the Golan Heights. We were interested to learn that the area beneath Mitzpe Gadot, called the Hula Valley, used to be completely flooded by swamps. Israel's first public service project was to dry out the valley--a project that some of the our Israeli friends' parents remembered. Unfortunately, the project was considered unsuccessful, because drying out the valley caused the animal and plant species that lived there to leave the area. Israel is now working to restore the habitat there, oops!
After all of that, we were ready to head back to Kibbutz Moran for a well deserved nap! Then, we had dinner (delicious, as always) and participated in a group activity. Each of us got a map to follow our travels, and our Israeli guide Itamar explained that in Israel, odd numbered roads go West/East, and even numbered roads go South/North. He thought we'd be surprised to learn that this was the opposite of the roads in America, but most of us had no idea that was the numbering system worked in the States. Regardless, we can't wait to show you where we've been when we return next week!
