Gamla nature reserve

Gamla nature reserve is a nature reserve and archaeological site located in the center of the Golan Heights, about 20 km south to the Israeli settlement of Katzrin.

For the archaeological site, see Gamla.
Mountainous terrain near Gamla
Aerial view

The nature reserve stretches along two streams, Gamla and the Daliot, and includes natural and archaeological attractions.[1] Among the former are the largest nesting colony of griffon vultures in Israel, various other birds of prey, among a variety of wildlife and wild plants.[1] Among the latter are the ancient city of Gamla and a Bronze Age dolmen field containing 716 dolmens.[1] At the head of the Gamla stream there is a 51-meter highwaterfall, the highest in Israel and the Israeli occupied territories,[1] which dries up during summer and autumn.[2][1]

The reserve also contains several other sites, such as a memorial monument and the ruins of a Byzantine-period village. The memorial is dedicated to the Jewish Golan Heights settlers who were killed during the Israeli wars and as a result of terror attacks;[1] the remains of the Christian village from the 4th–7th century CE, known by the Arabic name of Deir Qeruh, include a well-preserved monastery centered around a church[1] with a square apse - a feature known from ancient Syria and Jordan, but not present in churches west of the Jordan River.[3]

References
  1. Gamla Nature Reserve at the Israel Nature and Parks Authority site. Accessed July 12, 2018.
  2. Aviva Bar-Am, "Going for Gold in Gamla", Jerusalem Post, January 31, 2010. Accessed July 12, 21018.
  3. Jerome Murphy-O'Connor (2008). The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide from Earliest Times to 1700. Oxford Archaeological Guides. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 289–290. ISBN 978-0-19-923666-4. Retrieved 12 July 2018.


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