The day began fearfully for me. After last week’s hike in Petra where I almost collapsed from the heat, I didn’t know how today’s walk to the headwaters of the Jordan River would go.

It actually turned out to be easier than expected–some shade and cooler temps helped a lot. Our walk was in the area known as the Golan Heights, in the shadow of Mt. Hermon at the Tel Dan Nature Reserve that has preserved many archeological points of interest. Mt. Hermon is referred to throughout the Old Testament as a beautiful sentinel over God’s Promised Land. The Jordan River flows from snow melt and underwater springs around Mt. Hermon.

We saw remnants of the “High Place” sacrificial stones where King Jeroboam erected golden calves. A mud brick gate, constructed by Caananites, served as a town entrance at the time of Abraham about 4,000 years ago. In contrast, a nearby ancient town in ruins proves to be Israeli because of the stone construction method.

All of these spots stand in or very near disputed border areas. We could look across a meadow and see a town in Lebanon; Syria was just over another hill. We walked by Israeli trenches leftover from the Six Day War with Syrian forces. A few hearty souls even walked in them!

We ended our day of touring with a visit to the Springs of Banias, a Roman place of shrines built into cliffs. People came there to choose which god to worship. When Christ’s apostles visited, they did not go to worship but to proclaim Christ’s deity.

On the return to our hotel in Tiberias, we drove by many rocky, remote stretches of land and occasional military installations. The sober reality of unrest came into focus with signs alongside the road that stated: “Firing Area Enterance [yes, spelled that way] Strictly Forbidden.”

As the Sea of Galilee came back into focus, my jaw relaxed, and I felt I had returned from eons of war-torn history into a sliver of peace.