Mount Carmel

The word karmel ("garden-land") has been explained as a compound of kerem and el meaning "vineyard of God" or a clipping of kar male, meaning "full kernel". Martin Jan Mulder suggested a third etymology, that of kerem + l with a lamed sufformative, meaning only "vineyard", but this is considered unlikely as evidence for the existence of a lamed sufformative is weak. In Song of Songs 7:6, karmel is generally interpreted as a color, perhaps "crimson" or "yellow". suggests connecting it to the yellow "karmel lily" mentioned by the Jerusalem Talmud (y. Sukkah 3:6 ) in the version of REbYH. ==Geography and geology==

The phrase "Mount Carmel" has been used in three distinct ways, referring to either one of the following three areas: • The long mountain range all the way to Jenin, including the Manasseh Hill Country and the heights southeast of it. • The northwestern of the mountain range. • The headland at the northwestern end of the range. The Carmel range is approximately wide, sloping gradually towards the southwest, but forming a steep ridge on the northeastern face, high. The Jezreel Valley lies to the immediate northeast. The range forms a natural barrier in the landscape, just as the Jezreel Valley forms a natural passageway, and consequently the mountain range and the valley have had a large impact on migration and invasions through the Levant over time. The mountain formation is an admixture of limestone and flint, containing many caves, and covered in several volcanic rocks. While most of the sedimentary rock originates in the late Cretaceous, some of the north east sediments are from the early Cretaceous, and the edges also feature sediments from the Pleistocene. The sloped side of the mountain is covered with luxuriant vegetation, including oak, pine, olive, and laurel trees. Several modern towns are located on the range, including Yokneam on the eastern ridge; Zikhron Ya'akov on the southern slope; the Druze communities of Daliyat al-Karmel and Isfiya on the more central part of the ridge; and the towns of Nesher, Tirat Hakarmel, and the city of Haifa, on the far northwestern promontory and its base. There is also a small kibbutz called Beit Oren, which is located on one of the highest points in the range to the southeast of Haifa. Mount Carmel Naval Base is also located just near the mountain and is the logistical hub of Israeli Navy. ==History==

Palaeolithic and Epipalaeolithic , and main sites, including Tabun cave, 500,000 to around 40,000 BP As part of a 1929–1934 campaign, between 1930 and 1932, Dorothy Garrod excavated four caves, and a number of rock shelters, in the Carmel mountain range at el-Wad, el-Tabun, and Es Skhul. Garrod discovered Neanderthal and early modern human remains, including the skeleton of a Neanderthal female, named Tabun I, which is regarded as one of the most important human fossils ever found. The excavation at el-Tabun produced the longest stratigraphic record in the region, spanning 600,000 or more years of human activity. The four caves and rock-shelters, Tabun, Jamal, el-Wad, and Skhul, together yield results from the Lower Paleolithic to the present day, representing roughly a million years of human evolution. There are also several well-preserved burials of Neanderthals and Homo sapiens and the transition from nomadic hunter-gatherer groups to complex, sedentary agricultural societies is extensively documented at the site. Taken together, these emphasize the paramount significance of the Mount Carmel caves for the study of human cultural and biological evolution within the framework of palaeo-ecological changes." In 2012, UNESCO's World Heritage Committee added the sites of human evolution at Mount Carmel to the List of World Heritage Sites. The World Heritage Site includes four caves (Tabun, Jamal, el-Wad, and Skhul) on the southern side of the Nahal Me'arot/Wadi El-Mughara Valley. The site fulfils criteria in two separate categories, "natural" and "cultural". Classical and late antiquity '' carvings from the Roman period at Horvat Sumaqa During the Roman and Byzantine periods, a belt of Jewish villages flourished across Mount Carmel, supported by highland agriculture and local industry. Towns such as Horvat Sumaqa, with its monumental 3rd–4th century CE synagogue, exemplify this pattern of Jewish settlement, linking the Jewish-majority Galilee with the surrounding valleys. In the 5th century this network was disrupted by unrest, likely including the Samaritan revolts, when Byzantine reprisals did not always distinguish between Samaritan and Jewish communities, affecting places such as Husifah (modern Isfiya) and Horvat Sumaqa. Ancient agriculture: olive oil and wine Archaeologists have discovered ancient wine and oil presses at various locations on Mount Carmel. As a strategic location Hebrew Bible Due to the lush vegetation on the sloped hillside, and many caves on the steeper side, Carmel became the haunt of criminals. According to the Books of Kings, Elisha travelled to Carmel straight after cursing a group of young men because they had mocked him and the ascension of Elijah by jeering, "Go on up, bald man!" After this, bears came out of the forest and mauled 42 of them. This does not necessarily imply that Elisha had sought asylum there from any potential backlash, Ottoman period During the Ottoman Period, Mount Carmel was part of Turabay Emirate (1517–1683), which encompassed also the Jezreel Valley, Haifa, Jenin, Beit She'an Valley, northern Jabal Nablus, Bilad al-Ruha/Ramot Menashe, and the northern part of the Sharon plain. The Druze settlement in the Carmel region is relatively recent, with the exact timing unclear. According to one tradition accepted by scholars, they settled in the ruins of ancient Huseife, now Isfiya after the defeat of the Lebanon-centered House Ma'an. Daliyat al-Karmel's population consisted of refugees from Aleppo who arrived in the early 19th century. Despite facing attacks from neighboring villages, the largest towns, Isfiya and Daliyat al-Carmel, persevered, possibly following the withdrawal of Ibrahim Pasha's army.'''' World War I During World War I, Mount Carmel played a significant strategic role. The Battle of Megiddo took place at the head of a pass through the Carmel Ridge, which overlooks the Valley of Jezreel from the south. General Edmund Allenby led the British in the battle, which was a turning point in the war against the Ottoman Empire. The Jezreel Valley had played host to many battles before, including the historically very significant Battle of Megiddo between the Egyptians and Canaanites in the 15th century BCE, but it was only in the 20th-century battle that the Carmel Ridge itself played a significant part, due to the development in artillery and munitions. == As a sacred location ==

Within Canaanite, Phoenician, and Syncretic Hellenistic Traditions In ancient Canaanite religion, high places were frequently considered to be sacred, and Mount Carmel appears to have been no exception. In 1952, archaeologist Michael Avi-Yonah published a Greek inscription carved on a sculpted leg discovered at Carmel, reading "To Heliopolitan Zeus of Carmel." Tacitus states that there was an altar there, but without any image upon it, and without a temple around it. The existence of a pagan temple on Mount Carmel is supported by the Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax, a fourth century periplus that mentions Mount Carmel as the "mount and temple of Zeus". Israelites and Hebrew Bible Altar to God According to the Books of Kings, there was an altar to God on the mountain, which had fallen into ruin by the time of Ahab, but Elijah built a new one (). Elijah In mainstream Jewish, Christian, and Islamic As the narrative is set during the rule of Ahab and his association with the Phoenicians, biblical scholars suspect that the Baal in question was probably Melqart. Archaeologist Michael Avi-Yonah and other scholars argue that the Ba'al defeated by Elijah was not Melqart, but Hadad, the "Lord of Heaven" (Baalshamin), a mountain and weather god whose cult was dominant among the Phoenicians. (See below under "Carmelites (12th c.–present): El-Muhraqa site" for more). Although archaeological clues are absent, the site is favoured because it has a spring, from which water could have been drawn to wet Elijah's offering. There is also a sea view, where Elijah looked out to see the cloud announcing rain. However, the biblical text states that Elijah had to climb up to see the sea. There is an altar in the monastery which is claimed to be that which Elijah built in God's honour, but that is unlikely, as it is not made of the local limestone. Druze venerate Elijah, and he is considered a central figure in Druzism, and due to his importance in Druzism, the settlement of Druze on Mount Carmel had partly to do with Elijah's story and devotion. There are two large Druze towns on the eastern slopes of Mount Carmel: Daliyat al-Karmel and Isfiya. In the original Rule or 'Letter of Life' given by Albert, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem who was resident in Acre, around the year 1210, this hermit is referred to simply as 'Brother B'; he probably died around the date 1210 and could have been either a pilgrim, someone serving out a penance or a crusader who had stayed in the Holy Land. Although Louis IX of France is sometimes named as the founder, he was not, and had merely visited it in 1252. and a series of decorative terraces around the shrine were completed in 2001. The white marbles used were from the same ancient source that most Athenian masterpieces were using, the Penteliko Mountain. Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, writing in the Tablet of Carmel, designated the area around the shrine as the location for the administrative headquarters of the religion; the Baháʼí administrative buildings were constructed adjacent to the decorative terraces, and are referred to as the Arc, on account of their physical arrangement. Ahmadiyya Muslims The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has its largest Israeli mosque on Mount Carmel, in the Kababir quarter of Haifa, known as the Mahmood Mosque. It is a unique structure with two minarets. The mosque was once visited by the president of Israel, Shimon Peres, for an iftar dinner. ==Gallery==