Israel Day 5: Golan (Nature Reserve Banias)

Banias was our next stop of the day. Greek culture came to Israel after the conquest of Alexander the Great in 332 B.C., and a temple to the pagan god Pan was built. (Banias is the Arabic version of Paneas.) Banias has an important place in history for many different cultures. At the end of the first century B.C., the Romans annexed Banias to Herod's kingdom. After his death, the north and the Golan Heights were awarded to his son, Philip, and Banias was the capital of the region. In Christian tradition, Banias was the site where Peter stated that Jesus was the Messiah, and Jesus replied, "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it."

After this, the pagan worship of Pan came to an end and his temple was abandoned, but the city around it prospered. It then went into a decline after the Muslim conquest in the 7th century. Like Nimrod's fortress, Banias changed hands many times because of its position on the crossroads between Lebanon and Syria.

We walked through the remains of the temple and the city, to include an old flour mill and a synagogue. There was also a beautiful waterfall that we were smart and drove to (instead of doing an hour and a half hike).




Guess I didn't take as many pictures as I thought I did! It was really cool, but maybe I was pictured out.

Our last stop was another nature reserve with a beautiful wading pond. At first, we were all hoping for a swim stop, so we were a little disappointed when the water was only ankle-deep. Then we got in the water and it was FREEZING cold, so it's probably a good thing that it was only ankle-deep.