I wrote in my profile that this will be a blog about Italy but it's turning into a blog with a subsection on the Golan and its points of interest.... Well, you already know the reason why. Since I keep seeing interesting and pretty places over there, I'm writing about them (if you're wondering what's happening in Italy - then I can tell you with confidence that it keeps on raining and raining - which is good for the greenery around here but is not very conducive for trips to see things).
On the left you can see the Gilbon fall which is the second highest in Israel after the one in Gamla. We went there with a large part of the Israeli population who also wanted to see it during Pesach. However, in spite of the fact that there were many people there it wasn't too bad. And the atmosphere was nice, not too hot. A lot of fun. Tzachi, Israel's dog, sat inside the water (which is very very cold) to cool himself... He then proceeded to shake himself off and covered me with water drops.... (this is Israel's other dog, of whom you will shortly see a picture of).
On this day we also went to see Irises on the grave of a Sheik - in a place called Sheik Marzuk. It seems that it is customary to plant irises on the graves of sheiks. They were beautiful - we managed to see them when they were still blooming.
Another day we went to Susita. This is an interesting archaeological site dating back to the Hellenistic period. It's been excavated only partially. The view from there down to the Kinneret is wonderful:
As promised here is a picture of Tzachi the dog in which you can also see the pretty blossoming of flowers this time of the year (he came with us both to Susita and to the Gilbon):
and here am I from the back - going up to Susita:
We also went to see para gliders gliding off Mt. Nimron. Israel says that every year someone gets killed there or hurt - either because of the winds which toss them against the mountain or because they fall into minefields below. Still, it looks exhilirating. I once flew in a hot air ballon and I imagine it to be similar:
On the day before I left we went on a tour in the north of the Golan. Israel sometimes takes guests around the Golan - and so we went. It's the time of the cherry blossom. Here are some pictures of the cherry trees in Masa'de -
and to end this post - a picture of me in the wilderness and a picture of Israel and me (the fog in the back is not fog but dust....):
