The atmosphere within this simple shrine is intense, with devotees filing into the cave to whisper prayers into recesses in the stone.īack on the seafront, meander to Bat Galim Beach. Christians, Jews, Muslims and Druze all come to seek inspiration in this 14m-long grotto, and rumours have long swirled about the cave’s enlightening, even healing, powers. Lift your gaze to its heavenly dome, enriched with paintings of Elijah ascending to paradise in a fiery chariot.Ī steep walk from here leads to another meditative space, Elijah’s Cave, where the prophet is said to have slept and prayed before confronting the prophets of Baal on Mt Carmel (1 Kings 18). An inspiring venue for contemplation is the monastery’s marbled Baroque-style church, dating to 1836. During the Crusader era, Christians took up residence in caves here and eventually established the Carmelite Order. Hop aboard the cable car from its seafront promenade up to Stella Maris Carmelite Monastery. Get above it all with a cable car ride from Haifa's seafront to the Carmelite Monastery and caves © RnDmS / Shutterstock Spiritual Haifa: ponder the universe in Bat GalimĪt the opposite end of the emotional spectrum is Bat Galim, Haifa’s northern tip.
At sundown, the bigger kids come out to play along Masada St, where music is almost as loud as the rattle of cocktail shakers. By day, there’s MadaTech Museum : within the rosy brick walls of the 1912 Technion Building are exhibition spaces that fizz with activity, like creaking hydroelectricity wheels, glowing 3D cinema screens and the clatter of tiny fingers slotting geometric puzzles into place. The zone around Masada St, sandwiched between Wadi Nisnas and Hadar HaCarmel, provides an enjoyable sensory jolt. High-spirited Haifa: hi-tech displays and heated debate around Masada St Just north of these falafel rivals is Abd Al Hadi sweet shop, featuring a head-spinning range of baklava (grab some to take away if you’re already waddling from the effects of too much). HaZkenim is a major contender for the neighbourhood’s best (with just the right amount of crunch) but that would be heresy to devotees of hole-in-the-wall Felafel Michelle, which faces it in a stand-off on the other side of Wadi St. As you stroll along Wadi St, various scents mingle in the air: roasting coffee, sweet halva, the saline tang of fish. Around 3000 of the original Arab population stayed in Wadi Nisnas, and the neighbourhood’s weathered limestone houses and busy shop fronts are little-changed.įlowing through Wadi Nisnas is an open-air market that brims with local produce, from crates of watermelons and limes to soil-crusted bouquets of fresh herbs. Welcome to Wadi Nisnas, a largely Arab neighbourhood with a reputation for Haifa’s best market produce and outstanding falafel. Wadi Nisnas boomed as an Arab workers’ quarter until the start of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Leaving the German Colony, a 10-minute walk southeast along Sderot HaMeginim and Ein Dor St transports you from idle elegance to a hive of market catcalls and grab-and-go food. Hungry Haifa: graze your way through Wadi Nisnas Follow a walking tour into this garden sanctuary: tinkling water features, cactus beds and palm trees create a calming space in the midst of a clamorous city.
The Báb was confined to darkness before his execution in Persia in 1850, so he is revered with gardens that are bright, colourful and illuminated after sundown. This is the final resting place of the predecessor to the Baha’i faith’s main prophet, Baha’ullah. A major pilgrimage site for Baha’i believers, the gardens cloak 19 separate terraces, which cascade around the domed Shrine of the Báb. Still busy with cargo ships, Haifa is now Israel’s largest port.Īmble from the promenade to Yefe Nof St to reach the pinnacle of the Baha’i Gardens, Haifa’s splendorous centrepiece. The bay has been pivotal for Haifa from its beginnings as a fishing port through the medieval and Ottoman periods, when the city grew wealthy from maritime trade. Peering over the walkway’s marbled colonnade, you’ll see big, blue Haifa Bay and the ancient city of Akko shimmering hazily in the distance. This genteel residential area offers peerless views from the flanks of Mt Carmel, particularly along Louis Promenade. Soak up the stillness in Haifa's immaculate Baha’i Gardens © Shujaa_777 / Shutterstock Serene Haifa: daydream over Hadar HaCarmel’s viewsįor a slow-paced introduction to Haifa, start at the top of the town in Hadar HaCarmel.