Mount Carmel
Mount Carmel | |
---|---|
הר הכרמל ( Arabic) | |
Highest point | |
Elevation | 525.4 m (1,724 ft) |
Dimensions | |
Length | 39 km (24 mi) |
Width | 8 km (5.0 mi) |
Geography | |
Country | Israel |
District | Haifa |
Range coordinates | 32°44′N 35°03′E / 32.733°N 35.050°E |
Geology | |
Type of rock | Limestone and flint |
Mount Carmel (
Etymology
The word karmel has been interpreted to mean: "garden-land"[1] (of uncertain origin); "vineyard of God", as a compound of kerem and el; or a clipping of kar male, meaning "full kernel."[2] Martin Jan Mulder suggested a third etymology, that of kerem + l with a lamed sufformative, but this is considered unlikely as evidence for the existence of a lamed sufformative is weak.[3]
Geography and geology
The phrase "Mount Carmel" has been used in three distinct ways, referring to either one of the following three areas:[4]
- The 39 km (24 mi) long mountain range all the way to Manasseh Hill Countryand the heights southeast of it.
- The northwestern 21 km (13 mi) of the mountain range.
- The headland at the northwestern end of the range.
The Carmel range is approximately 6.5 to 8 kilometres (4.0 to 5.0 miles) wide, sloping gradually towards the southwest, but forming a steep ridge on the northeastern face, 546 metres (1,791 feet) 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.[4]
The mountain formation is an admixture of limestone and flint, containing many caves, and covered in several volcanic rocks.[4][5] 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 pleistocen.
The sloped side of the mountain is covered with luxuriant vegetation, including oak, pine, olive, and laurel trees.[5]
Several modern towns are located on the range, including
History
Palaeolithic and Epipalaeolithic
As part of a 1929–1934 campaign,
In 2012, UNESCO's World Heritage Committee added the sites of human evolution at Mount Carmel to the List of World Heritage Sites.[12][13][14] 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".[13]
Of great interest for the Near East Epipalaeolithic is Kebara Cave.
In December 2020, archaeologists from the University of Haifa announced the discovery of the oldest known tool used for grinding or scraping, dating back about 350,000 years at the Tabun Cave at Mount Carmel site. According to researchers, this cobble belongs to the Acheulo-Yabrudian complex from the late Lower Paleolithic and was used by hominids for abrading surfaces.[15][16][17][18]
Ancient agriculture: olive oil and wine
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.[4] Thickly-wooded Carmel was seen as a hiding place, as implied by the Book of Amos.[4][19] 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.[20] This does not necessarily imply that Elisha had sought asylum there from any potential backlash,[4] although the description in the Book of Amos, of the location being a refuge, is dated by textual scholars to be earlier than the accounts of Elisha in the Books of Kings.[21][22]
Ottoman period
During the
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.[25]
World War I
During
As a sacred location
Canaanites
In ancient Canaanite culture, high places were frequently considered to be sacred, and Mount Carmel appears to have been no exception; Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III lists a holy headland among his Canaanite territories, and if this equates to Carmel, as Egyptologists such as Maspero believe, then it would indicate that the mountain headland was considered sacred from at least the 15th century BCE.[4]
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 (1 Kings 18:30–32).
Elijah
In mainstream
According to
Though there is no biblical reason to assume that the account of Elijah's victory refers to any particular part of Mount Carmel,[4] Islamic tradition places it at a point known as El-Maharrakah or rather El-Muhraqa, meaning the burning.[5]
Two areas have been hypothesized as the possible site for the story about the battle against the priests of Baal. The slaughter could have taken place near the river
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.[28]
Hellenistic and Roman periods
Iamblichus describes Pythagoras visiting the mountain on account of its reputation for sacredness, stating that it was the most holy of all mountains, and access was forbidden to many, while Suetonius states that there was an oracle situated there, which Vespasian visited for a consultation;[30] Tacitus states that there was an altar there, but without any image upon it, and without a temple around it.[31]
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".[32]
Carmelites (12th century – present)
A
Although Louis IX of France is sometimes named as the founder, he was not, and had merely visited it in 1252.[5]
- Stella Maris site
The Order was founded at the site that it claimed had been the location of Elijah's cave, 1,700 feet (520 m)
Though there is no documentary evidence to support it, Carmelite tradition suggests that a community of
A Carmelite
The Carmelite Order grew to be one of the major Catholic
- El-Muhraqa site
Under Islamic control the location at the highest peak of the Carmel came to be known as "El-Maharrakah" or "El-Muhraqa", meaning "place of burning", in reference to the account of Elijah's challenge to the priests of Hadad.[5] This, perhaps not coincidentally, is also the highest natural point of the mountain range.[citation needed]
- The Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
One of the oldest
Baháʼí Faith
Mount Carmel is considered a sacred place for followers of the
The Shrine of the Báb is a structure where the remains of the
Ahmadiyya Muslims
The
Gallery
See also
- Mount Carmel National Park
- Nahal Me'arot Nature Reserve
- Mount Carmel Forest Fire (2010)
- Sacred Heart Chapel, Haifa
- Our Lady of Mount Carmel
- Palestine Final Fortress
References
- ^ "Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon".
- ^ "Aviv Hadash: An Israeli youth encyclopedia". p. vol. 9 pg. 169.
- ISBN 978-88-7653-629-8.
- ^ Encyclopedia Biblica
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Jewish encyclopedia
- required.)
- ^ "Timeline in the Understanding of Neanderthals". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
- ^ Christopher Stringer, custodian of Tabun I, Natural History Museum, quoted in an exhibition in honour of Garrod; Callander and Smith, 1998
- ^ "From 'small, dark and alive' to 'cripplingly shy': Dorothy Garrod as the first woman Professor at Cambridge". Archived from the original on 2009-02-28. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
- ^ "Excavations and Surveys / Prehistory Division". The Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
- ^ "The Zinman Institute of Archaeology – Excavations and Surveys". Arch.haifa.ac.il. Archived from the original on March 13, 2013. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Newest UNESCO World Heritage Site-Carmel Caves" (Press release). Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 2012-07-02. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
- ^ a b Udasin, Sharon (2012-06-29). "4 Mount Carmel Caves Nominated to Join UNESCO". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
- ^ "Twenty-six new sites inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List this year" (Press release). UNESCO. 2012-07-02. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
- ^ Winer, Stuart. "Stone found in Israel is oldest known tool in world used for 'delicate' abrading". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
- ^ "A 350,000-year-old turning point in human evolution found in Israel". Haaretz. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
- ^ "The oldest known abrading tool was used around 350,000 years ago". Science News. 2021-01-21. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
- ^ "357,000-Year-Old Abrading Tool Unearthed in Israel | Archaeology | Sci-News.com". Breaking Science News | Sci-News.com. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
- ^ Amos 9:3
- ^ 2 Kings 2:25
- ^ Jewish Encyclopedia, Books of Kings
- ^ Jewish Encyclopedia, Book of Amos
- ^ al-Bakhīt, Muḥammad ʻAdnān; al-Ḥamūd, Nūfān Rajā (1989). "Daftar mufaṣṣal nāḥiyat Marj Banī ʻĀmir wa-tawābiʻihā wa-lawāḥiqihā allatī kānat fī taṣarruf al-Amīr Ṭarah Bāy sanat 945 ah". www.worldcat.org. Amman: Jordanian University. pp. 1–35. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
- S2CID 258602184.
- ISBN 978-965-493-184-7.
- Peake's commentary on the Bible
- ^ BI, Editor (2018-11-29). "Tour Haifa: 5 Must-Visit Sites in Haifa". Biz Israel.
{{cite web}}
:|first=
has generic name (help) - ^ "Mount Carmel". The Jewish Magazine. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
- ^ ISBN 9781442246171.
- ^ Suetonius Vespasian 5.6
- ^ Tacitus Histories 2.78.
- OCLC 1045023033.
- ^ James Hitchcock, History of the Catholic Church, San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2012, p.155.
- ^ "Golden anniversary of the Queen of Carmel". Baháʼí World News Service. 2003-10-12. Retrieved 2007-05-12.
- ^ "Holy Sites in Haifa". Tour-Haifa. Retrieved 18 November 2010.
- ^ "Shimon Peres visits Ahmadiyya Mosque in Kababir Israel". youtube. Retrieved 4 December 2010.[dead YouTube link]
External links
- UNESCO Biosphere Reserves Directory
- UNESCO World Heritage List
- Mount Carmel – BiblePlaces.com, pictures and text illuminating the biblical site (archived 5 July 2012)
- Carmel Holy Land, the website of the Carmelite monastery at the traditional site of Elijah's confrontation with the priests of Baal.