Cattle on Mt. Hermon, Israel photographed by Jeff Zablow, 6/16/08

I do. I’ll not ever forget that morning on the peak of Mt. Hermon, the mountain that served as the border between Israel and Syria. At 7,000 feet above sea level, my guide, Eran, and I expected to be alone on that June boiling hot ‘top of the world’ mountain top. Not so, for see who we shared it with?

We theorized that these were Syrian owned cattle that regularly climbed Hermon to graze on its limited fare.

We marvel at the view here. It’s history, for sure. The mid-ground and background here capture Syria before it became its present Armageddon killing fields. Before Syrian army, Hezbollah, Russian ‘advisors,’ Cuban ‘advisors,’ Hamas, North Korean ‘advisors,’ Chinese ‘advisors,’ Pakistani ‘advisors.’ bin Laden’s men and more arrived to kill, rape and force out the tens of thousands who lived there. Ugh!

Me? I was there to find and to photograph rare butterflies, butterflies that lived there, and . . . nowhere else. Did I?

Yes!

Added to the experiences I’ve had that I shall not forget. Good.

Jeff