Hi,
It happened to be, that the base we are sleeping at is not far away from El Almin Officers’ Pool. So I woke up early in the morning, and had a short
walk to this nice spring.
The spring has a 4*12m pool, about 1-1.5 m deep full of ice cold water. I got there in 7:30 in the morning and a bunch of youth was already in the water, enjoying the coolness of the spring.
This pool is one of some spring called Officers’ Pools in Golan heights. All are left from the time the Syrian govern the area (1946-1967). Some where used to gather water for agriculture, and some for entrainment of the officers. This one is surrounded by Eucalyptus trees, which marked the location of Syrian army bases, so was probably a real Officers’ pool 😃.
The idea was of Eli Cohen, an Israeli spy in the Syrian Army (you can read his full story here). He convinced the Syrian that should do so to shed the bases, just as the British army did, during their regime. It made it easier for the IDF during Six day war and before.
Around the spring that are also fig trees. The water flowing from the pool are used to fill the water pools below it. The rest is feeding the Jordan river on its southern part (the raging Jordan)
Do yourself a favor and visit the place if you are around here 😃
Take care
Gad
The Eucalypus trees marking the location of the spring
By air, the spring is closer. But all around there are minfields
The turn to the pool with an explanation sign on the spring
The Hebrew explanation sign on the spring and some other places around it
The road to the spring
The road to the left is easier…
Here you can take the right (and go down the stairs) or to the left (and climb to the pool from below)
Already there are people in the pool
The stairs down to the pool
The officers’ pool
And from a different point of view
The stream flowing from the pool