So you just landed in Israel and you want to explore the country. You’ve seen the highlights but now you want to do something else. Well, my best tour of the Golan should do just that. Usually, most people start their way up to the Golan from Tel Aviv. So on your way driving along, you can stop for a bite to eat in Shiri Bistro located at Rosh Pina.
Shiri Bistro is a French-rustic chef’s restaurant in the ‘Pina Barosh’ complex in Old Rosh Pina. In the shade of the trees on Moroccan mosaic tables, you can have breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The menu is rich and combines the principles of French cuisine with local flavors and ingredients. In the simplicity of cooking with a pinch of spices and a generous base of garlic, olive oil, and herbs, Shiri retains the original and delicate taste of fine ingredients.
Shiri the owner was one of the first swallows to spread her wings and take off abroad to learn from the greatest chefs in the world. ”Shiri Gourmet’ which over the years has become ‘Shiri Bistro’. Now after you filled your stomach we can continue to our first site on the Golan Heights.
Mt. Bental and the Valley of Tears
The Valley of Tears is the name given to an area in the Golan Heights after it became the site of a major battle in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, known as the Valley of Tears Battle, which was fought between the 6th and 9th of October. Although massively outnumbered; the Israeli forces managed to hold their positions and on the fourth day of the battle the Syrians withdrew; just as the Israeli defenses were almost at the point of collapse.
In fact, the best place to see this known battlefield is from Mt. Bental, which overlooks Syria. The Syrians lost over 500 tanks and APCs and the Israelis lost 60 to 80 armored vehicles. One brigade from the 7th Division was taken out of action for three days and then reorganized as a battalion.
Another stop in my very best tour of the Golan is the known battle is the Battle of Tel Saki was held in southern Golan Heights during the Yom Kippur War between IDF infantry and armored forces and the Syrian army. The battle got its name from the mountainous area of Tel Saki where it took place.
(Credit: Dr. Avishai Teicher – CC by 3.0)
Tel Saki’s outpost is an observation post that on the eve of the war was not continuously manned but was usually used for night observations. On October 2, 1973, four days before the outbreak of the war, two companies from the paratroopers’ Brigade captured the line in the Tel Saki area.
My Very Best Tour of the Golan: Then The Yum Kippur Started
When the Yom Kippur War broke out with a heavy Syrian artillery attack on all Golan Heights outposts and the bombing of Syrian attack aircraft. Then Three Syrian infantry divisions with a force of 900 hundred tanks; and thousands of infantry soldiers broke through the border fence and penetrated the Golan Heights.
At 16:00, the observation soldiers reported the concentration of a large Syrian armored force of about 60 tanks in the Rapid area and on attack helicopters landing infantry forces. Near Midnight, the observation reported Syrian forces moving towards the tell and located north of Tel Saki.
