Around the World in 180 Days with D and N: Haifa and Akko: Carmelites, Baha'i and Crusaders

We set out Thursday morning to drive up to the Carmelite monastery of Stella Maris atop Mount Carmel in Haifa. We checked the map and drove up the street leading to the monastery, saw what we thought was the right spot, and stopped and parked. There weren't any other cars or tourists around, but it was just about opening time. The doors to the chapel were locked, so we rang a buzzer and were eventually admitted by a very elderly little nun using a walker. She didn't have much English, but told us that prayers were over but she would take us to the chapel. As we sat in the chapel it finally dawned on us that we were in the wrong place: right religion -wrong pew. The nun figured it out at about the same time, and told us "Stella Maris, 2 k" pointing to her right.

The Carmelite order was founded on Mount Carmel in the early 13th Century. The original members were Crusaders who who were imitating the prophet Elijah by living hermit-like in the grottoes of the mountain. The order eventually spread throughout Europe but was displaced on Mount Carmel until 1631, when a large church and monastery was built over a grotto where Elijah was said to have lived. During Napoleon's campaign in the Levant the monastery was used as a hospital for French soldiers. When Napoleon retreated the Turks massacred the patients and destroyed the church. The present structure dates from 1836.

From Stella Maris we drove down the slope to the Baha'i Gardens and Shrine. The gardens are huge and terraced down the slope of Mount Carmel for a considerable distance. We visited the gardens and then the Shrine, the burial site of the "Bab", the founder of the Baha'i religion. The gardens are really beautiful, but the explanation of the "Bab" and the Baha'i religion was sparse. The Baha'i Temple in Willmette, Illinois has a much more extensive explanation of the founding and essence of the religion.

We then drove north along the Mediterranean to Akko (or Acre), a city conquered over the ages by the Canaanites, the Romans, the Crusaders, the Turks and the British. Napoleon also set siege to the city, but was successfully fought off by the Pasha el Jazzar. Two Crusader military orders established extensive buildings in Akko. The Hospitallers were an order established to treat sick pilgrims in the Holy Land. The Templars guarded European pilgrims arriving in the Holy Land to visit the holy places. During the Ottoman regime, buildings were constructed on top of the Crusader edifaces. Ongoing archaelogical explorations have unearthed many of the Crusader city, which we visited.

We returned to Haifa to spend the night at our most comfortable studio apartment on a pedestrian street. Had a great dinner at the Sangria (Spanish!) restaurant across the street.