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.
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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
- Gamla Nature Reserve at the Israel Nature and Parks Authority site. Accessed July 12, 2018.
- Aviva Bar-Am, "Going for Gold in Gamla", Jerusalem Post, January 31, 2010. Accessed July 12, 21018.
- 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.