Just minutes from the battlefields of Syria, a secret world is discovered.
Beyond the wars, minefields and border disputes, the northern Golan Heights is a place unto itself. With black basalt rocks dotting the landscape of bright green hills, mists shrouding herds of wild horses, and wind farms harnessing energy blown in from the Lebanon, the Golan is a place where expectations are defied. The Tower’s in-house photographer, Aviram Valdman, offers a look at Israel’s mystical frontier.
Click on arrows to navigate. For best results, click on each photo individually to see its full detail and proportions.
- Blowback
At night, a wind farm lined by military trenches.
- Tanked
An IDF tank lies in snow-covered desolation.
- Stag Party
Species of deer from all over the world live in the Deer Forest.
- Lonely at the Top
A plow works after a heavy snow at the Ski Resort.
- White Fight
Israeli kids unused to snow play at the lodge.
- On the Rise
With Syria behind them, an Israeli Arab mother and son ride the chair lift.
- Flippin’
Celebrating Purim on the slopes.
- The Frozen Chosen
Members of Israel’s only ski patrol.
- Old-New World
Abandoned structure sees a new day.
- Keeping a Lonely Watch
A stag in the northern mists.
- Hard Truth Out of Stone
A Golan oak surrounded by dark basalt rocks.
- Spirits in the Night
The Golan’s secretive wild horses at twilight.