Mount Hermon

Mount Hermon (; , Har Hermon; , Jabal el-Sheikh, Djabl a-Sheikh, "mountain of the chief" and "snowy mountain") is a mountain in the Anti-Lebanon mountain range. Its highest point is 2,814 m (9,230 feet) above sea level, and is on the border between Syria and Lebanon. Though the summit remained under Syrian control, the southern and western slopes of Mount Hermon came under the control of Israel as part of the Golan Heights as a result of the Israeli victory in the 1967 Six-Day War, and were unilaterally annexed by Israel in 1980.

Geography

The mountain is actually a cluster of mountains with three distinct summits, each about the same height. The Anti-Lebanon range extends for approximately 150 km (93 miles) in a northeast-southwest direction, running parallel to the Lebanon range on the west.

The mountain forms one of the greatest geographic resources of the area. Because of its height it captures a great deal of precipitation in a very dry area of the world. The Jurassic limestone is broken by faults and solution channels to form a karst topography.

Mount Hermon has seasonal snow which covers all three of its peaks for most of the year in winter and spring. Meltwater from the snow-covered mountain's western and southern bases seeps into the rock channels and pores, feeding springs at the base of the mountain, which form streams and rivers. These merge to become the Jordan River. Additionally, the runoff facilitates fertile plant life below the snow line, where vineyards and pine, oak, and poplar trees are abundant.

The springs, and the mountain itself, are much contested by the nations of the area for the use of the water. It is important who controls the mountain, as well as the springs below, to guard against deforestation and pollution.

Mount Hermon is called the "gray-haired mountain," or the "mountain of snow." It is also called "the eyes of the nation" in Israel because its altitude makes it Israel's primary strategic early warning system.

History

Mount Hermon was called Senir by the Amorites and Sirion by the Sidonians (Deuteronomy 3:9; Psalms 29:6; 1 Chronicles 5:23; Song of Solomon 4:8; Ezekiel 27:5). The mountain served as the northern boundary of the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 3:8) and also was the northern limit of the Conquest (Joshua 11:17; 12:1; 13:5).

The high places of Mount Hermon were apparently used by the Canaanites in Canaanite mythological rituals. They referred to the mountain as Mount Ba'al-Hermon (Judges 3:3).

The Gospels tell of Jesus and his disciples journeying north from Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee to the city of Caesarea Philippi at the southern base of Mount Hermon (Matthew 16:13; Mark 8:27). There, Jesus revealed to them his purpose to build his Church and to go to Jerusalem to die and be resurrected (Matt 16:18-21).

Mount Hermon was a possible site of the Transfiguration, where Jesus took three of his disciples, Peter, James, and John, up on a high mountain for prayer. Before their eyes, Jesus was transfigured. He became radiantly white and conversed with Moses and Elijah, who had appeared beside him. The disciples' amazement and fear were further increased, when a voice from Heaven exclaimed, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him!" (Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:29-36).

In the Book of Enoch (1 Enoch 6) in the Apocrypha, Mount Hermon is the place where the Grigori ("Watcher") class of fallen angels decended to Earth. They swore upon the mountain that they would take wives among the daughters of men and return.

Modern day

Since 1981, the Israeli-held area has been governed under the Golan Heights Law. Mount Hermon houses Israel's only ski resort, including a wide range of ski trails at novice, intermediate, and expert levels. It also offers additional winter family activities such as sled-riding and Nordic skiing. Those who operate the Hermon Ski area live in the nearby Israeli moshav of Neve Ativ and the Druze town of Majdal Shams. The ski resort has a ski school, ski patrol, and several restaurants located on both the bottom and the peak of the area.

The Israeli sector of the mountain is heavily patrolled by the Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Police, and the Israeli Security Forces maintain a strategic observation post for monitoring Syrian and Lebanese military activity near Mitzpe Shelagim ("Snow Lookout"), which at about 2224 m (7300 feet), is the highest elevation under Israeli control.

The Syrian government has recently unveiled plans to develop a multi-billion dollar ski resort on its slopes ^*.

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Geography

History

Modern day