This tranquil, mysterious pool located on the outskirts of the Druze town of Mas’adeh, has given rise to many stories over the centuries. Its slopes now beautifully cultivated by Druze farmers, it is aptly named Birket Ram – the “high pool” – due to its location in the northern Golan Heights, surrounded by mountains over 3,000 feet above sea level.  Its origins are a puzzle, but most geologists believe it is the collapsed crater of a volcano.

A legend about the pool beautifully weaves together geography and human nature: A small hill near Birket Ram is known as Jebel el-Sheikha (“the hill of the sheikh’s wife”), while to the north rises majestic Mount Hermon, nearly 7,000 feet high and known as Jebel el-Sheikh (“the hill of the sheikh”). After many years together, the legend says, the sheikh stopped loving his wife, and Birket Ram is her eye, filled with tears.