A friend asked that I shoot and share HolyLand landscapes. Just about 0.05% of wingedbeauty followers have ever been there, that including those of you what have the dollar$ to actually book an El Al flight and go there. So, sure I agree to do so, though I am not a Sherrie Duris, Albert Bierstadt, Nancy Crosby, Peggy Klaczyk or Ansel Adams.

Not one to visit monuments, historical sites or such, I did now and then remember her request, and when I scoped places that I though you would find interesting, different and thought-provoking, I worked to secure good images.

Most imagine Israel looking like other Middle Eastern countries, i.e., dry, barren, rocky and watered by oases, found here and there.

This view from Neve Ativ, on the southern slope of Mt. Hermon, looks east. The foreground is easternmost Israel, the famous Golan region. The background is Syria, currently the world’s most active war zone. To the immediate right, and one hour and a half by rental car, is the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus Christ walked and taught.

Mt. Hermon is snow covered for 4 months of the year, and the melt from that snowy peak waters the entire region through most of the year. Those fields in the foreground? Israelis are adept at farming and engineering, and you see the product of such a combination of skills.

The serious fencing, topped with razor-wire? To deter terrorists from seizing the virtues of the night, for their heinous acts. It was April 2017 when this photo was taken.

The question? Is it safe there, Jeff? Safer than the street or county road you live on. How can that be? There is a very subtle, ever-present military presence there, and they employ the most sophisticated surveillance equipment, and they train as our US Marines do.

Jeff