UN Treaty Supervision Organization
Maj. Kenneth Cameron Writes from Remote
Outpost
in Jordan About Travels in Middle East
St. Thomas Times Journal - July 25, 1959
T-J Editor's Note: Major Kenneth L.
Cameron, of the Royal Canadian Engineers is the writer of
the following most interesting letter to his cousin Miss Carolyn.
Major Cameron, son of Sherriff Ian D. Cameron and Mrs. Cameron,
Scott street, has been in the Middle East since late last year and
he gives in this letter the story of his travels since being posted
there as a member of the U.N. Truce Organization. [EMM Note: the
headings have been added for clarity and images not available in
1959 have been added]
Dear Carolyn: - Your letter arrived just before I moved down
from Damascus to Jerusalem, so I thought I would wait until I got
settled in before writing. Settling in took quite a while, as I was
away from Jerusalem a lot on duty.
I have been wondering what there is about my job over here that
would interest you, and finally decided that the most interesting
thing would be to describe some of the places I have been and
things I have seen. There are certainly a lot of things to see over
here if you have the time, and that is one thing that we seem to
have a lot of - in fact too much, it seems sometimes!
UNTSO
 |
UNTSO HQ in
former Governor's House in Jerusalem
Photo: UNSTO |
The U.N. Truce Supervision Organization was formed to oversee
the truce between Israel and the Arab countries (Lebanon, Syria,
Jordan and Egypt) after the war in 1948. Up until now, there has
been no real peace treaty - still a truce under the terms of a
general armistice agreement which the United Nations got countries
to sign in '48. The U.N.T.S.O. has a headquarters in
Jerusalem at Government House, the residence of the former British
Governors of Palestine.
The Four MACs: ILMAC. ISMAC. HJK_IMAC &
EIMAC
The organization is divided into four mixed armistice
commissions (MACs): Israel-Lebanon (ILMAC); Israel-Syria (ISMAC);
Israel-Hashemite Jordan Kingdom (HJK-IMAC) and Israel-Egypt
(EIMAC). These MACs are supposed to investigate and report on
border incidents and violations of the terms of the general
armistice agreement, but while we have all the UN machinery, Israel
will not recognize EIMAC as long as the United Nations Emergency
Force occupies the Gaza strip, and neither Israel nor Syria attend
meetings of ISMAC, but they do complain about any border incidents!
All in all, it is very confusing and at times very frustrating.
Getting There
When I came over here last October, I came by way of New York,
London, Zurich, Athens and Cyprus, landing at Lydda (Israel). I did
not have much time in any one place, except for one night and part
of a day in London, so did not see much on the way. When I got
here, I spend a week in Jerusalem being briefed on the job to be
done and then was posted to ISMAC.
ISMAC - Israel-Syria Border
Headquarters for ISMAC is in Damascus (Syria), but the MAC is
actually divided into two parts, one in Israel and one in Syria.
For the first four months I was stationed in
Tiberias on the west shore of the Sea of
Galilee, or Lake Tiberias, as it is now called.
 |
| UNSTO
Observation Post |
Our main job there was to man four observation posts along the
Syrian-Israeli border, to keep an eye on border violations and to
investigate any incidents. The most northern OP was on Tel el Kadi
or 'Hill of the Judge', an old place which was actually the site of
Dan mentioned in the Bible. There others were of no particular
historical or Biblical significance.
I found Tiberias a very poor place to live, very hot until the
beginning of December, and then cold and wet until I left it at the
end of February. While in Israel, I did get a few trips around but
as the rainy season was on, I did not see all the things I wanted
to. However, it only takes a couple of hours to get up there by
jeep, so will be able to go and finish my sightseeing before I go
home.
I did get to see Capernaum, the Mount of the Beatitudes, Magdala
(birthplace of Mary Magdaline), Nazareth and Canaa, but only
briefly, not really touring. I also spent a day in Tel Aviv, and
also in Haifa, had a tour around the old city of Acre, and saw the
big shrine of the Bahai faith near Acre. I want to go back around
that area to see Castle Montfort, an old Crusader ruin - you
remember it if you have read 'Ivanhoe'.
The Israeli people are generally friendly, most of them being
Europeans, and they are doing a lot of work to improve the country.
Part of it is as rocky as any country could be and still be capable
of growing anything, so there is a lot of work to be done before
they can use modern farming equipment. You still see lots of
horses, donkeys and oxen used to pull the plow here, and in many
cases that is the only way the work can be done, because of all the
rocks.
|
Blue Berets at
Damascus Gate 1959
Photo UNSTO
|
At the end of February, I moved over to Damascus, which is
supposed to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world.
It is a mixture of the old East that you read about and the
up-to-date modern way of life. I did not find the people in Syria
very friendly - they seem to be very suspicious of stranger. The
old part of the city is very interesting, small crooked streets,
little shops, street merchants with push carts, soft drink and
coffee settlers, shoe shine boys, public letter writers, a few but
not many beggars. I walked and drove down the Street Called
Straight (and it is some drive too - narrow, filled with Arabs,
horses, donkeys, buses, everything but room to move!) Some of
the other places I saw in Damascus were the house of St. Ananias
where St. Paul recovered his sight, the Omayad Mosque, built on the
site of an old Roman Temple of Jupiter. In it is a large tomb that
is said to contain the head of John the Baptist! One of the
minarets of this mosque is called the Minaret of Jesus. The tomb of
Saladin, who fought against the Crusaders, is near the mosque.
Visit to Lebanon
While in Damascus, I made several interesting trips in Lebanon
and Syria. I went to Beirut for a day, a very modern city on the
outskirts but the centre is full of small streets and shops, just
like Damascus. I drove north along the coast to Byblos (Gebal in
the Scriptures). This was a great commercial and religious centre
between 3,000 and 4,000 B and there are ruins dating back to
Phoenecian and even back to Neolithic times there. Some guide books
say that the word Bible came from Byblios. I took quite a few
pictures showing Neolithic, Phoenecian, Egyptian, Roman Crusader
and Arab cultures, but had to send them home to be processed so
have not seen how they turned out yet.
In Lebanon I also went out to Baalbeck, an old city in the
valley between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon ranges. The ruins of
The Temple of Jupiter were the largest Corinthian style
temple built - 310 feet long and 175 feet wide with columns 65 feet
high and 7 feet 6 inches in diameter! Some of the stones in the
base of the temple are 14 feet 6 inches high, 12 feet thick and 64
feet long, about a thousand tons each - set so close that you could
not put a razor blade between them! It is a fantastic sight, and I
did get some good pictures there. The ruins date from the time of
Alexander and Augustus - the Greeks called it Heliopolis.
Syria
Syria I took one long trip across the desert to visit the ruins
of Palmyra (the Tadmore of the Bible). This is where Queen Zenobia
revolted against the Romans. The ruins are not nearly as massive as
Baalbek but spread out over an enormous area, thousands of columns,
some erect, some half buried, many fallen down and broken. This is
another interesting place - it was on the main caravan routes in
Biblical days.
In Syria, we also manned four observation posts. The most
northern one is just outside a town called Banias. The Greeks
called it Panyas, in honor of their god Pan, and d there are still
carved niches in the rock above the spring where we get water
for the OP, where statues of Pan were set. There are lots of pieces
of ruins around here, but nothing particularly impressive. You
might know of the place bette by its name of Caesaria Phillipe! One
other OP on this side is on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, a
really pretty spot, but too hot in the summer.
Another interesting visit in Syria was to the village called
Maalula, tucked into a big hole in the hillside on the edge of the
desert. The people there still speak an Aramaic dialect the same as
they did 2,000 years ago. They live in typical stone and much brick
homes now, but there are lots of abandoned homes carved out of the
rock - crosses carved in the walls show that the people who used to
live there were Christians. There are still several churches, a
monastery and a convent up there, miles from anywhere.
Moved Down to Jerusalem
At the beginning of May I moved down to Jerusalem. As you may
know, Jerusalem is divided in two, one half Israel, the other half
Jordan. Most of the Biblical sites are in the Jordanian area.
Our MAC office is in a building in the no-man'-s land between the
two areas, and some if the observers live in Israel, some in
Jordan. I prefer to live in the Jordanian side, as it is a bit
cheaper, and is also more interesting.
Six Outstations and Border Patrol
Areas
It really makes no difference where we live, as we travel back
and forth from country to country as we wish. Here we do not man
observation posts, but we man six outstations and patrol the border
areas from them. All the outstations are in Jordan, and all the
patrols are on the Jordanian side of the border.
Irbid Outstation
One station is East of the Jordan river near the northern border
of Jordan at Irbid. While on duty there I went to visit the ruins
of Jerash, in the Mountains of Gilead. This as one of the cities of
the Decapolis (remember your Ancient History?) and is one of the
most complete examples of a provincial Roman city to be seen
anywhere. Outside the city walls are remains of a Bronze Age
village (about 2,500 BC). You can still see the Forum, the theatres
, some shops, temples, even the ruts worn by chariot wheels in the
paving stones.
I also went in over a terrible road to Um Qeis, to see the ruins
of Gadara, another city of the Decapolis, on the hills south of
Lake Tiberias, but the local natives over the last couple of
thousand years, have used most of the ruins to build houses, or
fences, around their fields. After considerable hunting and a lot
of driving over goat and donkey tracks, another Canadian and I
finally found the site of Peila, the place where the early
Christians fled after the destruction of Jerusalem in 66 AD. The
site has never been excavated or really searched, except perhaps to
say that you have been there. There is n Arab village there now and
it is about the poorest and dirtiest one I have seen so far.
Jericho
Another outstation is at Jericho, on the hillside halfway
between the excavations that some archeologists say are the ruins
of Joshua's Jericho, and the Mount of Temptation. From the house
you can look down into the excavations or up to the Mount. The
patrol from Jericho goes up the Jordan Valley, and is a terrible
one in the summer. The hottest I have had it so far has been 108
degrees but I heard it was 113 degrees there last week! And
summer is just starting! The whole patrol route is below sea
level.
Swimming in the Dead Sea
I have gone swimming in the Dead Sea which is only a few miles
south of Jericho. It is quite an experience but you have to keep
the water out of your mouth and eyes - it really burns. It is
impossible to sink and nearly impossible to swim as you can't keep
your feet in the water!
On the road between Jerusalem and Jericho are the ruins of an
old building that is said to be an inn since it is the only one
between the two places, it is thought to be the one referred to by
Jesus in the parable of the Good Samaritan. You drive right past it
- but there is not much to see now.
Jenin Outstation
Next outpost is a Jenin, about 17 miles south of Nazareth. Not
much of historical or Biblical interest but one of the patrol
routes from there covers 70 miles, visiting a lot of villages and
covering some trails that are hard for even a jeep to negotiate. It
took me five hours to drive the distance and I only stopped for tea
in one village. This village is cut in half by the Israel-Jordan
border. Some families are half Israeli, half Jordanian, and legally
the Jordanians and Israelis can not visit each other or have
anything to do with one another. However, the Jordanian border
policeman there says that after dark he gives up and lets them do
as they please!
Tulkarm Outstation
Next outpost is Tulkarm, where I am now. This one is about 11
miles in from the Mediterranean coast and north of Tel
Aviv. Again, nothing much of interest here. However, on
the way here you pass through Nablus, where most of the remaining
Samaritans live, and just outside Nablus is Jacob's Well where
Jesus met the woman of Samaria. Also, near Nablus are the ruins of
Sebastia or Samaria. They have only been partly uncovered, but are
quite interesting. Local tradition says that John the Baptist was
imprisoned there and that his head was buried there. A Crusader
church was built on the site of the reputed tomb.
Latrun Outstation
The next outstation is in a Trappist monastery at Latrun on the
old road from Jaffa to Jerusalem. It is near the village of Imwas,
where some reference say is the Emmaus of the Bible, where the two
Disciples saw Jesus after the Resurrection. Other
authorities place it closer to Jerusalem. It is not an old
monastery, but is very pleasant to visit, and was all built by the
monks.
Hebron Outstation
The last outpost is at Hebron, south of Jerusalem and between
Bethlehem and Beersheba. There is a large mosque there, built over
several caves which are supposed to be the graves of Abraham and
Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah, with the tomb of Joseph
outside the wall. The lower walss of the place were built by Herod
to enclose the Cave of Macphelah. The actual caves have been sealed
since Crusader times and there is a good chance that this is a
true, not just a traditional site. This is one of the very holy
Moslem places and, until recently, Christians were not allowed in
and can still not take pictures. Hebron is a very Moslem town, not
even a theatre (and the people out here love movies).
Infested with Bandits
That just about completes this travelogue. I have not taken the
tour of Bethlehem yet and though I have done quite a bit of
wandering around in Jerusalem, I have not done a proper tour yet -
I am waiting until another chap and I get time off together to do
that. Four of us hope to leave on Thursday for a week in Cairo and
Luxor and later in the year a trip down to a place called Petra in
the mountains south of the Dead Sea - a city carved out of the pink
limestone rock. On the way down there we will visit Mount Nebo and
possibly Machaerus where Salome did her dance. This area is still
infested with bandits so we will have a police or army escort!
I seem to have rambled on quite a bit and I hope that you will
find something of interest in it. Right now I think I will have to
stop for a shower to cool off. Actually it is only 87 inside right
now not bad at all for out here. I will try to write again later
when I have added to the list of things seen and anyway will
probably see you in about 20 weeks, as I will be going through St.
Thomas when I get back.
Sincerely,
Ken
Tulkarm, Jordan