Haifa and THE Mount Carmel

I don't know if I mentioned it, but we are staying in a hotel in Haifa, high on a hill, on Mt. Carmel.  Since we live near a town named Mt. Carmel at home, I never gave much thought to the religious significance behind the name. Today would show things in a whole new light.

Today is Ash Wednesday,  when I would generally go to Mass and receive the blessing with ashes on my forehead.  But I wasn't having much luck finding a Catholic Church in the area that had any web information regarding Lenten schedules.

So I decided to walk the 2 + miles to the Carmelite Monastery named Stella Maris, located a bit downhill from out hotel.

At first, I was a bit confused as I continued to walk downhill in search of this shrine.  The literature stated that this shrine featured spectacular views over Haifa.  Shouldn't I be climbing up in elevation instead of going down?

 Suddenly, I realized that with our hotel on the top of the peak of the mountain, the chance of finding better views was going to be pretty slim.

It took me quite awhile to find the church, as the only entrance was near the peak of the cliff overlooking the city of Haifa.  When I spotted the Stella Maris lighthouse, I knew that I had to be close.

Just across the street stood my intended destination.

The front doors were open, so I entered the vestibule and was immediately greeted by a monk.  I said hello and asked him if the church would be distributing ashes during the day.  He motioned to me to wait while he went to ask.  In the meantime,  I stood in the vestibule and admired the beautiful interior of the church.

Above the altar sits a lovely Madonna, carved from cedar of Lebanon. 

Below, stands what looks like a cave, and when you walk down into that area, you will see a statue of Elijah adorning a lower altar.  Of course, I was intrigued.

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In the meantime, the monk returned, this time with a silver dish filled with Ashes..   I suddenly realized that he had brought the ashes in answer to my query, and before I knew it, he was making the sign of the cross on my forehead!  Ok, so this wasn’t what I had expected, but it certainly served the purpose as far as I was concerned.

There would be no Lenten services at the church today, and Mass is limited to one per day, generally spoken in Arabic.

I thanked the man for his help, and sat in prayer for few minutes.  As I was exiting the door, the monk appeared again as he was eager to share the history of the church.  He explained that the cave is believed to have been inhabited by Elias, known as Elijah.  He went on to mention that there was a second cave claimed by the Jews in the city.  But, that involved climbing down a steep hill, and that wasn't on my agenda for the day.  This "cave" was just fine by me!

The monk went on to talk about the Carmelite order, explaining that they were originally monastic hermits and they had come to this area in emulation of Elijah the Prophet. 

And THAT’s when it hit me…..I was standing on THE Mt. Carmel, the one we read of in the Old Testament.  The place where Elijah the Prophet lived and died.  This monk, who is originally from India, began to share his awe at being in this place “where it all started”, as he put it.  And I could feel it myself.

We went on to study an unusual monument in the shape of a pyramid.  

It is devoted to the many French soldiers who had been injured and left here when Napoleon retreated after his unsuccessful siege of Acre in 1799.  Those left behind were mercilessly slaughtered by the Turks.

The inscription, written in Latin, translates, “Mighty are the fallen in Battle”from King David’s lamentation over Saul and Jonathan. 2 Kings 1:  25.  I found it interesting to learn such a correlation. 

By now it was time to say good-bye to my new found mentor, and he bid me farewell with a smile.  I crossed the street, at his suggestion, to take in the views that are mentioned in the tour books regarding this area. 

The view was certainly beautiful, and I decided to reroute my way back to the hotel so that I could enjoy the vistas.

With map in hand, I set out onto Stella Maris Drive which looked like it linked up with a cross road that would take me back up the mountain.

Along the way, I spotted something moving along the bushes on the cliff.  Believe it or not…they were sheep! Look carefully, and you'll spot them near the lower right of the photo.

Considering how metropolitan this area is, that was the last thing I would have expected to spy!  They were scurrying off at pretty fast speed, that's for sure.

As I continued along the drive, a floral scent kept wafting by as I walked,and I soon realized that it was emanating from these yellow flowers.

The scent was quite similar to that of honeysuckle, and it was quite pleasant to smell.  You know the saying…..you've got to stop and smell the flowers.  And, actually, it was nice having the break!

As I continued to look up at cliffs, I began to wonder if I would have to reverse my path in order to reach my hotel.  Things were not looking promising.  2-D maps just don't give a sense of height! 

Eventually I spotted steps leading up a very sharp hill.  I found  myself chanting, "I think I can….I think I can", huffing and puffing on the way up.  I was waiting for that exciting moment to congratulate myself, when I realized that I still had a LONG way to go.

I turned up yet another road and soon found myself in the Garden of Sculptures.  Now, this was quite a surprise!

 There was a donkey

and a horse

and a woman with 4 children hanging on her (ahhh…..the memories of those days past)

and this lovely figure of a woman delicately holding a bird.

But this one took the prize:

That's SOME fish she's holding, don't you think?

Believe me, at this point, I needed the comic relief!  

A right and a left and another left, and some climbing up yet one more hill and finally!  I spotted the Promenade!!

Whew!   Knowing that I was near my destination, I couldn't resist stopping to catch my breath and admire the view.

Didn't I tell you that it would be hard to beat the vistas from the top of Mt. Carmel?  I'm thinking that I should write Mr. Frommer and fill him in on that detail!

But, with such a beautiful day to get out and enjoy, I don't even mind that my intended 4 mile hike ended up being 9  miles!  It beats being in cold, snowy Pennsylvania any day!

I don't think anyone will be arguing with that!