finding poppies in Israel: Arabic trip to the Syrian border, Druze communities in the Golan, and bunkers

The Arabic students went on an excursion today to the Golan Heights, where we met up with a Druze guide, Hisam. He had the most amazing mustache (look for it in the photos).

Our first stop was to the checkpoint between Israel and Syria. It was amazing to see Syria so close up but I could not help but feel a pang in my chest about the civil war. I stood off to the side and prayed silently for the people of Syria.

(this is zoomed in... i did not get this close)

The United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) was established byUnited Nations Security Council Resolution 350 on 31 May 1974,^[1] to implementResolution 338 (1973) which called for an immediate ceasefire and implementation ofUnited Nations Security Council Resolution 242.^[2]

The resolution was passed on the same day the "Agreement on Disengagement"^[3] was signed between Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights, finally establishing aceasefire to end the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

[...] The buffer zone is about 80 km long, and between 0.5 to 10 km wide, forming an area of 235 km². [...] The initial composition of the UNDOF in 1974 was of personnel from Austria, Peru, Canada and Poland. Today, about a thousand troops are provided by Austria,India, Japan, Philippines, and Croatia. The troops are assisted by military observers from the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization's Observer Group Golan, international and local civilian staff.

(from Wikipedia)

(L to R: the chief commander, Hisam our guide, our group guard)

The Israeli government allows Druze people to cross into Syria for religious, family, and education reasons. Each side has a list of people who are allowed to pass through. Notably, the University of Damascus gives scholarships to Druze students who want to study medicine. So those who cannot get into the medical schools in Israel can get their MD's across the border and return ready to work in a hospital or clinic. Out of the 21,000 Druze people living in the Golan, 600 have become doctors since they were allowed to pass through. Hisam was very proud of this stat.

Our next stop was to an old bunker. Somewhat to our surprise, we were greeted along the entryway by whimsical sculptures.

(look at how well their headwear is portrayed!)

(check it out -- Damascus is just 60km away)

(where to go next...?)

(bunker from above)

(walking through the tunnels underground... looks like a scene from a sci-fi movie here, no?)

(beds below)

(the bright spot is where the checkpoint is)

(view of the orchards from a sniper window)

(view of more orchards from outside)

(the Golan Heights supplies 1/3 of Israel's water)

(this spice is one of the ingredients for za'atar, and speckles falafel onions; no one knew the name for this spice in English, but i think it might be sumac--someone correct me if i'm wrong)

We drove to Hisam's hometown, Buq'ata, where he took us to what he called an "apple fridge," which is a co-op apple packing plant. Two-hundred members from the town raised the $6 million necessary to build it. There are about 6,000 Druze people living in Buq'ata, and folks have the option of buying a stock (or half, quarter, &c.) of the "fridge" which is equivalent to about 90 crates. People like Hisam have their own apple orchards, where they pick their own fruit and bring it to the plant to be sold domestically and/or exported to Syria.

(sooooo many apples...)

(washing them)

(sorting them by size and weight)

(volunteer packers)

(we learned that these pants are to cover up the crotch area for the sake of modesty... plus, in Hisam's words, "it's nice and airy down there")

(the Druze men shave their heads and grow out fabulous mustaches. the white cap on top represents purity)

(they didn't let the women take photos with them, but we could take photos of them)

We stopped by the town center on the way to Hisam's home.

(if you squint, you can catch a glimpse of Druze women in their black gowns and white headpieces in the L background)

Photos from around the town:

(tractors, cars, and bikes roam the streets together)

(most of the buildings look like they're in the middle of construction)

(next to nice mansions, you have piles of debris and garbage... it reminded me of parts of No Libs in Philly, where there would be nice houses next to abandoned lots and boarded-up warehouses covered in grafitti)

(Hisam's house, which he was very proud to show us, with fig trees and grape vines creating a canopy over his outdoor seating area)

(he picked some for us to try)

(one of the sitting rooms--the floor couches were quite comfy)

(a student from Germany, some from the States, and a gentleman from Paris)

We stayed in this room for a little while, eating snacks and hearing more about the Druze faith and people. Here are some basic facts about the Druze I gathered from Hisam, for those of you who may not be familiar with them (I certainly didn't know much before today... I still only know the bare minimum):

The Druze faith is often considered a secret one, but Hisam denied this, since there is so much information out there now on the internet (haha). The Druze branched off from Shia Islam in the 11th century. They still read the Qur'an and according to Hisam, it's up to the individual whether they want to adopt other Muslim practices. While his answers to questions were quite general, I got the sense that the Druze faith is more individualistic than Islam. Unlike most Islamic sects, they reject polygamy and believe in incarnation. Hisam said that people tend to be reincarnated if they died a tragic death, such as dying young. When a given person leads an immoral life, their soul gets reincarnated in a blind or lame body. This triggered questions about how the Druze then consider and treat the handicapped and made me uncomfortable.

The Druze primarily live in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel, although you can find some Druze people in other countries including the United States. They are well known to be loyal to their home countries. Something to note, however, is that the Druze people of the Golan refused Israeli citizenship. As neither Syrian or Israeli citizens, they carry a laissez-passer if they want to travel outside Israel.

You can only be Druze if both of your parents are Druze, so if a Druze person marries a non-Druze person, his/her children will not be counted as part of the Druze community. This creates a tricky situation. Thus, it's a common practice for Druze folk to marry their cousins in order to keep the bloodline pure. Purity is highly valued. They abstain from smoking, drinking alcohol, eating pork, &c.

Druze communities are replete with flags or stars made up of five colors: green, red, yellow, blue, and white. The colors represent the five prophets of Al-Mowahideen. Green also stands for al-'Aql (the Universal Mind), Red for al-Nafs (the Universal Soul), Yellow for al-Kalima (the Word), Blue for al-Sabiq (the Cause), and White for al-Tali (the Effect). They each have associations with different aspects of nature, like the earth, sun, water, &c.

(my Arabic teacher is the one wearing black in the middle--she's a really good, efficient teacher)

(one of the kid's rooms with an odd painting decision)

We took a lunch break at a restaurant in the town:

(they looooove Coca-Cola in Israel)

(we were anticipating a meat course but it never came. that's okay though, since the hummus, baba ghanoush, goat cheese, falafel balls, cabbage, pickles/olives/peppers, pita, and Turkish coffee at the end were delicious and plenty. i'll confess: i'm not a big fan of Turkish coffee...)

We stopped by another bunker and saw Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan (and Israel of course) all from one point. Mt. Hermon, too. Really neat.

(view of a red mountain from the bus)

(that's Mt. Hermon in the distance)

... and concluded the day by picking apples and plums in Hisam's orchard, visiting the (admittedly fake) tomb of Prophet Iliya, and taking a long ride back to Haifa.