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 Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...

of Katzrin. It adjoins the Yehudiya Forest Nature Reserve. The nature reserve stretches along two

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

s, Gamla and the Daliot, and includes natural and archaeological attractions. 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. Among the latter are the ancient city of Gamla and a Bronze Age

dolmen A dolmen () or portal tomb is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (40003000 BCE) and were somet ...

field containing 716 dolmens. At the head of the Gamla stream there is a 51-meter high waterfall, the highest in Israel and the

Israeli occupied territories Israeli-occupied territories are the lands that were captured and occupied by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967. While the term is currently applied to the Palestinian territories and the Golan Heights, it has also been used to refer to a ...

, which dries up during summer and autumn.Aviva Bar-Am
"Going for Gold in Gamla"
Jerusalem Post, January 31, 2010. Accessed July 12, 21018. Gamla Nature Reserve
at the Israel Nature and Parks Authority site. Accessed July 12, 2018. 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 This is a list of wars involving Israel. Since its declaration of independence in May 1948, the State of Israel has fought eight recognized wars with its neighbouring Arab states, two major Palestinian Arab uprisings known as the First Intifad ...

and as a result of

terror attacks The following is a list of terrorist incidents that have not been carried out by a state or its forces (see state terrorism and state-sponsored terrorism). Assassinations are listed at List of assassinated people. Definitions of terroris ...

; the remains of the Christian village from the 4th–7th century CE, known by the Arabic name of

Deir Qeruh Deir Qeruh church: the nave with the door at its western end Deir Qeruh ( ar, دير قروح "Monastery of Qeruḥ") is a ruined Byzantine-period village in the Golan Heights, located within an Israeli national park, the Gamla nature reserve.

, include a well-preserved monastery centered around a church with a square apse - a feature known from ancient Syria and Jordan, but not present in churches west of the

Jordan River The Jordan River or River Jordan ( ar, نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn'', he, נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, ''Nəhar hayYardēn''; syc, ܢܗܪܐ ܕܝܘܪܕܢܢ ''Nahrāʾ Yurdnan''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Shariea ...

References

External links

Eagles' nest: Gamla nature reserve
at Ynetnews Nature reserves in Israeli-occupied territories Golan Heights {{Israel-geo-stub