Nimrod Fortress

Way up on the map of Israel. North, and up into the mountainous area of the Golan Heights, is a really amazing place called Nimrod Fortress. This marvelous work of earlier civilizations sits 2600 ft high up on a mountain. The fortress provided an excellent lookout over the Hula Valley below. This rock block structure, carved into a hillside, was used by a variety of people over the centuries. We were there on a hazy morning, so the photo of the view to the valley is not crystal clear.




There are only remnants of turets, and other parts of the fortress were destroyed by an earthquark several hundred years ago, but otherwise, this site is remarkably preserved.





Made by human hands, with carefully carved blocks of solid rock, it proves that man can do just about anything he puts his mind to. It was most likely created by Muslims around 1230 to provide a lookout and defense against invading Crusaders and anyone else who was thinking about a takeover.


It may look like a bunch of stacked up rocks from the outside, but there is so much more that you can't see. The architects of this place had a plan, put it all together, and this place served its purpose for hundreds of years.


Ancient Arabic writing on this wall. I wonder what it says?



This spiral stone staircase takes you down to a big water reservoir, that still has water in it. It also takes you to an observation room.




The silence in this dark cool rock room was noteworthy. The fortress had lots of lookout windows. They were designed so you could be up there watching who was coming up the road in their chariots or whatever they used at the time. And you had space enough to shoot at them with arrows or spears.






It blows me away every time I see something like this ancient lion. Its been there since the 1200s! Think of the things this silent sculpture has witnessed over the years. Granted, the first 300 years of its time as sentry were fairly stressful. Now, the Royal lion is pretty much just posing for photos with friendly strangers.



The keystone,the most important part of an arch holds it all together. This aging keystone is slipping, but its still hanging on, though time and mother nature have taken their toll. The keystone reminds me that we are all keystones too. People depend on us to hold things together. And even though we are tested by time and trouble, we're all still here, hanging on the best we can to keep everything from falling apart.

I had never heard of Nimrod Fortress before the guide took us up that long mountain road to see it, feel it, walk into it, climb upon its rocks. I am so glad to have had the experience.