Carmel-The Green Mountain

The name ‘Carmel’ is well known today as the brand name for a variety of Israeli fruits and vegetables of superior quality. The meaning of the name is “the fruitful place”, and so is most appropriate for both the mountain and the produce, although the produce does not come from the mountain. Carmel is a range of hills, about twelve miles long, that runs south east­ward from its headland on the Mediterranean coast at Haifa to the hills of Samaria. Its highest point is well inland at 1,728 feet, near the mon­astery of Mukhraka, which marks the reputed site of Elijah’s contest with the false prophets.

These hills are well watered and hence are well covered with vegetation. Its title of ‘the Evergreen Mountain’ comes from the great vari­ety of trees, bushes and flowering plants. When other areas of the country tend to be parched and brown, Carmel keeps its colour. There is ample evidence that these hills have been inhab­ited from very early times. Its geological forma­tion has provided numerous ready-made caves, which gave shelter in an area that also provided nearby water and food.

Carmel is still popular with lovers of nature, and in 1970 was designated a National Park and Nature Reserve. Nature trails have been marked, and both local and visiting tourists can now have access to the beauties of Carmel, with its 670 different species of plants, shrubs and trees, some of which are unique to Carmel. In spring the colourful show of flowers is spectacular, in­cluding masses of wild anemones, cyclamens, madonna lilies and a variety of orchids.

The indigenous wildlife has been depleted as a result of uncontrolled human predation and the widespread use of pesticides and poisons. To endeavour to restore the balance the Hai-Bar Carmel wildlife reserve has been established, where stocks of some of the creatures that used to roam the hills are being raised with a view to reintroducing them to the wild.

There was formerly an extensive population of Druse inhabitants on Carmel, occupying about twenty villages. Most of the villages were destroyed by their Muslim overlords in the eighteenth century, since when only two have survived. The best known is Daliat el Carmel, meaning ‘Vine of Carmel’, the other being Usfiya. It was at Daliat el Carmel that Laurence Oliphant lived for several years, and where he entertained the first Christadelphian visitor to the Holy Land, Brother Viccars Collyer.

It was from here that Brother Collyer set out on horseback to visit the Sea of Galilee, and it was from a vantage point here that he was shown the new Jewish settlement of Zamarin, about eleven miles to the south, which was being financed by Christadelphian funds administered by Mr Oliphant. Since those early days the little settlement has grown into the thriving town of Zichron Yacov.

It was at Oliphant’s house that his male secre­tary, Naphtali Herz Imber, wrote the words of the Israeli National Anthem Hatikvah. Today this house is a visitor centre and a memorial to the Druse soldiers who died while serving with the Israel Defence Force. In the courtyard is a marble pillar commemorating the death of Alice, the wife of Laurence Oliphant.

Another place of special interest is the reputed site of the famous contest between Elijah and the many prophets of Baal, as recorded in 1 Kings 18. The site is occupied by the monas­tery of Mukhraka, where can be found one of the few places on these hills with running water. This confirms the accuracy of the site in accord­ance with 1 Kings 18:33-35.

Carmel is also used by several species of birds from northern Europe for their winter refuge. Robins, stonechats and chiffchaffs may be seen here when their home territory is snowbound. During their annual migration many other spe­cies of birds pass overhead. The heights of Carmel thus have intense interest for lovers of all forms of nature, and if present policies can be maintained will be of increasing interest. A popu­lar song in Israel describes Carmel as “the moun­tain that is green all the days of the year”, a very pleasant part of a very fascinating land.