The bus left Damascus to the Golan with a group of young university students on board, all of them dreaming of a day when peace, stability and prosperity will prevail in the region, dreaming of a day when lovers can sit on the banks of River Jordan, whispering under willow and elm trees, birds chirping above them, and children running joyfully in the vicinity. They dream of swimming and splashing in the waters of Tiberius, with older men and women relaxing on the basalt rocks, listening to the roar of waterfalls, while ailing people bath in the sulfurous water of al-Hemma. They were dreaming of a day when students flock to natural sites and historical places to enjoy their beauty and cultural importance, where men and women ski on the snows of Mt. Hermon, while shepherds graze their sheep in the green meadows and play their flutes.
The Golan was always in the heart of the Levant, a unifying element of its countries and a center of interaction between civilizations. Old man settled it, and Jesus Christ crossed it bearing the banners of love. Its stones are witnesses to the victories of the battles of Yarmouk, Hattin and Ein Jalout .The bus crossed the villages along the road, one after another, to stop at a junction already made by River
al'Aawaj (The Winding River). The guide started: "We are in the refugees camp of Khan al-Sheeh. The Khan was built by the Memlouks as a hotel on the road between Damascus, Jerusalem and Cairo". "I see houses not tents". Reem Said. "True" The guide smiled at the young lady and continued:" First it was a camp set by Palestinian refugees, after Israel had occupied their country and expelled them from their homes in 1948. Year after year the camp became a shanty town, but Palestine is still nesting in the heads of refugees.