Bye bye kibbutz cabins, hello Jerusalem. Our route today took us to the most north east corner of Israel. We could see the Syria boarder. Not far from Lebanon as well. As we drove south, the Jordanian boarder was within eyesight. Israel is really not a very large country. Our first stop was to the Valley of Tears. This is where the 1973 war was fought with Syria. Tanks and defensive bunkers are everywhere as well as today's Israeli military installations. We stopped in to the El-Rum kibbutz to watch a film on the Yom Kipper war. This kibbutz sustained significant damage. The residents fled to come back later and rebuild. While in the bus we our guide spent quite a bit of time explaining why the conflicts are they are in this part of the world. The conclusion is, it's complicated. Lunch was a home hosted meal by a widowed Druze woman. It was fabulous. We learned much about the Druze, their unique culture and traditions. The Druze area was Syria until 1967 when annexed by Israel. The Druze refuse to accept to be an Israeli. They have Syrian passports. For those born after 1967, they have no passports. They are able to travel but extensive time is required to obtain travel papers. It was all quite interesting. Then off we set for a 3 hour drive to our home for the next 5 nights — Jerusalem! First stop, Mount of Olives. Breathtaking view of the old city area of Jerusalem at sunset. Tomorrow, we explore the old city. Check out the next episode!
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