"nice view" Muhafazat al Qunaytirah by Martman

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QUNEITRA القنيطرة

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I visited the Golan about 12 years ago. Our bus stopped on this road along the mountain. We saw United Nations buildings just in front of us. I looked further in the distance and saw the city Qunaytirah in Syria.
It looked so close. If there were no physical barriers, I could have walked there. Maybe there will be a day when I can just walk across to there! That is one of my ambitions. I do know that on internet there are pictures of this area. I took this one which show me that I was there.

previous statement:
When I get a chance, I plan to put the picture onto a disc and load it here.

updated statement:
I have put the picture onto a disc and loaded it.


The Golan area is extremely pretty and is a large mountain range. When travelling through the mountain, one observes many fenced in areas with prohibited access. The reason is because these were mine fields left over from the Arab-Israeli wars. As there were so many mines, it was easier to just isolate those areas than remove the mines.

I actually had a misconception regarding the border of Israel and Syria. I imagined that border to be totally militarized and civilians cannot come even close. In fact, the exact opposite is true. That border is completely demilitarized. Part of the ceasefire agreement, is that neither country is allowed military within a certain distance from the border. That means civilians are closest to the border and not military. In fact, there is an area where the two countries are close enough, that friends and family (Druze) talk to each other via megaphones.

According to VT definition, the Golan (where I was standing) is part of Syria. I am no expert, so won’t agree or disagree.

I will say this: If the Golan is part of Syria, then I can proudly say that I have been to Syria. Not just that, I can then proudly say that I visited Syria with Israeli stamps in my passport! Israel captured the Golan during the 67 war, before I was born!

This area was so quiet and serene. Standing and looking at this quiet area, one would never believe that there was once war here. I believe that today, most of the Golan's population are Druze.

It is not easy defining war/peace exactly because everything is a sliding scale. Ironically, there is some form of peace between Israel and Syria. The countries are still enemies. The tension, however, has changed its form to boycotts rather than bloody war. At least boycotts (justifiably or unjustifiably) are far different to war.

Syria does not honor passports with Israeli stamps. In fact, a tourist may not enter Syria with any evidence of having visited Israel. Lebanon has similar policies to Syria regarding Israel. Lebanon, however, is not as stringent as Syria.

I do hope for peace in this area. I believe that nearly every Arab country has negotiated peace with Israel. The only exceptions would be Libya and Iraq. Contrary to what many believe, though Iran is Islamic, it is not an Arab country.

I hope to one day visit Syria. My visit would include going directly into Qunaytirah approaching from the Syrian side. This is contrary to just looking over United Nations territory to view the town. Maybe I could then visit the town from one country and exit through the other!

This space of my VT page is reserved for my report once I have done that.
(After all, a report is more accurate if I was there instead of just viewing!)

I genuinely would love to see this area. Despite all the problems in this region, Syria is far safer than people realize. Crime is low compared to most first world countries. I have met people who have visited there and they all found the Syrian people extremely friendly.

• Pros:Beautiful view, lovely quiet peaceful area.
• Cons:Countries are still technically at war.