Peter’s investitur

The Golan is rich in natural reserves, traversed by rivers and streams. Banias, a tributary of the Jordan, flows 13 kilometers east of Kiryat Shmoneh in the territory where the capital of the tetrarchy of Philip, the son of Herod the Great, Caesarea Philippi or the Caesarea of Philip (4 B.C. – 34 A.D.) spread out. It was named this to distinguish it from Herod’s Caesarea, located on the Mediterranean. This is where Jesus entrusted Peter with the responsibility of his church.

When Jesus arrived at Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples: “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? They replied: “Some say that you are John the Baptist, some say Elijah and others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. He said to them: But who do you say that I am?” And Simon Peter answered saying, “You are Christ, the Son of the living God”. And Jesus answered and said to him: “Blessed are you, Simon, the son of Jonah for flesh and blood did not reveal this to you but my Father, Who is in heaven. And I also say to you: You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of Death will not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you untie on earth will be untied in heaven.”

Matthew 16:13 - 19

Vestiges from the Greek, Arab and Crusader periods are scattered in this region. During his visit towards the end of the 19th century, Pierre Loti recounts:

Finally at around three of four o’clock, the phantom of Caesarea Philippi appears, in the April verdure at the foot of the high summits covered with bushes and flowers; running water murmurs all around; the din of the springs and the torrents alone bring the surrounding deserts to life.

Before entering the city, we must make a detour in order to visit a deep cave, which is one of the pagan sanctuaries, one of the oldest in the world, where the loose and voluptuous cult to the god with four goat’s legs, playing the flute, was formerly worshipped. Halfway up a vertical mountain, this large shadowed entrance opens, fringed with foliage that falls in a garland; a spring escapes and falls, frothing upon masses of columns and ruins blossoming with garlands of oleander like the cave; and at about one hundred meters above, on the same large rock wall, a small, lone mosque is perched in the middle of some branches, with its dome and its white arches.

P. Loti, The Galilee

Banias, which draws its name from the Greek god of nature, Paneus or Pan, flows out of a cliff hollowed out with niches that sheltered the statues of the gods. A Druse saint, Sheikh al-Kidr – the green sheikh – is buried in a cave on the hill. A water mill continues to turn under the pressure of the current to the visitor’s delight. One kilometer farther away, the torrent falls ten kilometers into a natural pool. Three kilometers further away to the left stands an Arab castle that the Crusaders had occupied (1130 –1140): Qalat Subeita or Qalat Namrud or Nimrod’s Castle, named after one of Noah’s descendents:

And Kush begot Nimrod who began to become a mighty one on earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Eternal and so it is said: “Like Nimrod, the mighty hunter before the Eternal. And the beginning of his kingdom was Bavel…

Genesis 10: 8 –10

Abandoned in 1164, the Carchemishians conquer the fortress – the Hashishim, who the Crusaders compare to assassins because of their lack of character and cruelty. The Mongols will finally destroy it in the 14th century.

The Druse villages of Ein Qounya, Masa’da and Majdal Shams dot the road that climbs to the Hermon: “Upon his head”, says an Arab proverb, “is the eternal winter, upon his shoulders autumn flickers, on its sides spring blossoms and at its feet, the eternal summer reigns.” The Hermon, where the springs that feed the Jordon are born, reaches an altitude of 2,760 meters on the side of Lebanon and 2,200 meter on the Syro-Israeli side.