Home » Israel » Go Golan! when did Israel start looking like Ireland?

Well, its finally come to the end. My 6 month internship program is officially over. I can’t believe it, I really can’t. As usual, 6 months has gone so fast. For the last week of our program, we had a 4 day trip to the north. It was full of emotions, especially me, only days after my cousin passed away, and just the overwhelming situation of the program ending, and friends leaving. But let me talk about the amazing trip we had before I get all mushy.

Go Golan! when did Israel start looking like Ireland?

Leah Schneier
2007-04-21 21:39:07

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Well, its finally come to the end. My 6 month internship program is officially over. I can't believe it, I really can't. As usual, 6 months has gone so fast. For the last week of our program, we had a 4 day trip to the north. It was full of emotions, especially me, only days after my cousin passed away, and just the overwhelming situation of the program ending, and friends leaving. But let me talk about the amazing trip we had before I get all mushy.

We left Sunday morning and started driving north up the coast. Our first stop was some caves in the Carmel mountains, called Nahal HaMi'ara, which is close to Haifa. These caves are an amazing anthropological site because over the last several thousands of years, they were home to many, many different people and tribes, most of whom we really don't know much about. You can see in the caves, the different colors of the ground, the different layers, and so many fossil and remnants of people and animals gone by.

We next drove to a Druze village called Ossfiiya. There we had an amazing meal by the Druze hospitality, and had a
Druze man speak to us about his culture and religion. I'm not sure how many of you have even heard of the Druze, let alone know what they really are, so I'll give a brief explanation, because it is really interesting. Druze are an Arab people, but they are NOT Muslims. They did however, come out of Islam, about 1000 years ago. They do not believe in Muhammed as their prophet, nor the Koran. They have 5 prophets of their own. One of the things that makes them different is that they are a secret religion. Meaning nobody can read their holy books or know what the religion is really about, except for other Druze. Even this though, has its limitations. Every Druze has to make the decision when they are 15 years old, to be religious or secular. If you are religious, you can lead a modern life, but you study religion. However, if you are secular, you can not study religion at all. You ...