In the North

My husband and I enjoyed a weekend without the kids in the North.

The weather was hot (30 degrees), dusty (better than the sandstorm some days before) and dry (hate it)- so the view was not the best.

We went up to the Nimrod Fortress. I passed by a few times but never visited, so I finally wanted to go and see this place high above the valley on the slopes of Mount Hermon.

The castle was built around 1229 by Al-Aziz 'Uthman, a son of Saladin. Not everything is excavated, but it is an impressive site. 

There are leftovers of beautifully carved inscriptions in Arabic. A huge room with vaulted ceiling, a very big cistern, a secrete pass way, the prison etc. Oaks are growing amongst the ruins and give the impression of a small park within the site.

I want to go back there with the kids.

view to the valley- to the right is Lebanon

We drove further up the mountain and then along the border with Syria southwards to visit my husband's uncle who lives in the south of the Golan Heights.

It is a strange thing- to drive between minefields (old but never cleared), to watch to the left, see Syria and think about the human tragedy on the other side. To see in the north the leaves of the apple trees glowing in bright yellow and red- a festival of colour before the winter- but on the other side of the border there's probably not much reason for joy.

Everything is dry. Let's pray that this winter will bring more rain! It is badly needed- especially in the north. The water level of the Sea of Galilee is very low- you can see it clearly. Even now that Israel stopped to pump water from it the level is not rising due to the drought.