What a day, starting with a tour of the kibbutz, by a gentleman who was born there in 1941. This is an original barrack building from 1920.
His dog never strayed far from him.
There were 2 long rooms, and 8 families slept in each.
The grounds were lovely...lots of pretty gardens, flowers.
Bomb shelters everywhere.
One of the children's bomb shelters. When they were attacked by rocket missles 1948, War of Independence, they stopped housing all the children together...decided they could lose too many at once.
Lebanon/Hezbollah is at the top of the hill. Lebanon isn't the problem, it's Hezbollah...
This is their dining hall with a 1 meter thick concrete roof, so rocket fire cannot penetrate.
To make money, they have a quarry, run the hotel, and farm. A lot of young people are feeling nationalistic, and are joining the kibbutzes in the northern Galilee.
Next stop, the Golan Heights, which is like a long mesa between Israel, Lebanon to the north, and Syria to the east. I totally understand it's strategic importance. Before Israel annexed in the 1967 war, Syria would sit on top and lob rockets at Israel. On the way to the summit, where there is a bunker
there are fun sculptures made of war junk. My favorite is the Godzilla.
To the east, inside the Israel border, is a major operating station on Mt Avital
and below that is a United Nations outpost, where there are troops and equipment.
Syria starts where the clouds are. The fields belong to a kibbutz.
Here you can see the fence between Israel and Lebanon.
There are lots of military bases/training facilities. These tanks, designed by Israel, have the engines in the front, so if they are hit, the personnel are protected.
After all of that, it was great to stop at a winery for tasting...really pleasant wines. Two were new for me, a pinotage, which is pinot noir and a South African grape, and Moise. They will arrive home in a few weeks!
The wine maker had spent some time in Sonoma.
The Golan Heights is beautiful...reminds me of the high country in Utah. Everything is green now because of recent rain, but as California, it will be brown soon. I understnd why the Israelis love the Golan.
Next, on the way to Tiberius, and Caperneum, the home of St. Peter, and where Jesus taught
This is the temple where Jesus ministered
and a church built over Simon Peter's house.
The onto the site of the "Jesus Boat", supposedly the boat that Jesus sailed through the Galalee with...hmmm....
They found it on a kibbutz, by mistake. Once discovered, "they" didn't know how to get it up, without it falling apart. They injected it with a poly-something, then sailed it to a dry dock and lifted it out of the water. It has since been injected with some sort of a wax, so it won't fall apart.
Next stop, our hotel. It's a great little boutique hotel, founded by the Scotts. I'll write tomorrow about what we did today...I am so tired, I'm off to bed. Be well all!
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