MtCarmel.info

Mt Carmel

admin — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 10:53:54 +0000

The Mt Carmel is a location of touristic and religious importance. It is a mountain range located in Northern Israel.

The Mt Carmel in Israel, mean a lot of things to a lot of people, historically and otherwise.

Even in ancient and current lore, Mt Carmel has been described as The Vineyards of God . It holds immense touristic importance to the people of Israel and the Middle East in general.

Religiously it holds a large amount of significance to Jewish Islamic and Christian cultures as among other things it was said to be the place from where Elijah performed some of the historical acts recorded in most holy books.

Mt Carmel Tourism

admin — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 10:50:10 +0000

On the religious, historical and political importance of the Mt Carmel.

The Mount Carmel tends to host a large amount of tourists on an annual basis all seeking different experiences from their visit.

It is one of the most visited areas in the Israeli state of Haifa and the city welcomes a lot of people who want to enjoy the tourist experience regardless of their ethnic or religious background.

Mt Carmel Attractions

admin — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 10:47:13 +0000

Most of MT Carmel tourism attractions are of religious significance.

There is the Catholic Carmelite Monastery which was founded sometime around the 1100’s and is one of the oldest monasteries in existence.

Mount Carmel is also the location of the Baha’i World Centre as well as the Shrine of the Bab both of which are largely significant to the followers of the Baha’i faith. Mount Carmel is also a place of immense archaeological history since one of the oldest and most human fossils ever found was discovered here.

Archaeologists have also discovered ancient wine as well as ancient wine presses at various places within the Mt Carmel area.

Mount Carmel, Israel

admin — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 09:09:36 +0000

Mount Carmel in Israel is a coastal mountain range located in Northern Israel and in the West Bank.

Mount Carmel stretches from the Mediterranean Sea towards the southeast.

Unlike most mountain ranges, it boasts a fertile soil and was at one time a place to harvest grapes for wine. The mountain range is about 24 miles long and about five miles deep. It slopes gradually toward the southwest and forms a steep ridge on the northeastern face. To the northeast lies Jezreel Valley that forms a natural passageway through the mountain range.

See also

History and Geography

admin — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 09:09:24 +0000

The sloping mountainside is covered with large vegetation, including oak trees, olive trees, laurel trees and pine trees.
There are several towns located on the mountain range, including Zikhron Ya`agov, Yokneam and the town of Carmel City, among others, including the city of Haifa.

The numerous caves have been excavated with findings of Neanderthal and early modern human remains, including the skeleton of a Neanderthal female, regarded as one of the most important Neanderthal remains found. The rocks themselves span more than 600,000 years of human activity.

There were found several well-preserved sites for both Neanderthal and Homo sapiens burials as well as evidence for the passage of time from nomadic hunter-gatherer groups to more complex sedentary agricultural societies.

A sacred location in Mount Carmel

admin — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 09:09:10 +0000

In the Canaanite culture, places that are high were considered to be holy.
The mountain was considered sacred from at least the fifteenth century BC. According to the book of Kings, an altar was built to honor Yahweh on the mountain that had fallen into ruins but was rebuilt by Elijah.

In Jewish, Islamic and Christian beliefs, Elijah is associated with the mountain and he is regarded as sometimes living on the mountain in a grotto. In the Book of Kings, Elijah was believed to challenge 450 prophets to a contest at the altar on Mount Carmel to decide whose deity was in charge of the kingdom of Israel.

According to the Bible, the challenge was to convince a deity light a sacrifice by fire but all challengers failed at this. Afterward, Elijah poured water on his sacrifice, prayed and then fire fell from the sky and consumed the sacrifice.

The Carmelites

admin — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 09:05:20 +0000

The Catholic religious order called the Carmelites was founded on Mount Carmel in the Twelfth Century.
The founder was a pilgrim or crusader and founded the site at what was once the location of Elijah’s cave. It is the highest natural point on the mountain range. Carmelite tradition believes that a community of Jewish hermits had once lived at the site until the Carmelites were founded there.

A Carmelite monastery was founded at the site and was dedicated to Mary. Louis IX of France once visited the monastery and the Carmelite order grew to be one of the largest Catholic orders throughout the world.