Mount Carmel

Mount Carmel is not a particular mountain peak, but a mountain range, stretching from Haifa, on the Mediterranean coast, east and south along the Jezreel Valley.  The prophet Elijah spent a lot of time in the area of Mount Carmel and Biblical historians believe he lived for a time in a cave in the mountain, which has now been turned into a shrine.

Mount Carmel is also where Elijah challenged the 450 prophets of Baal to a "duel".  Each side would build an altar and place a slaughtered bull on it.  Then the God who burned up the sacrifice would be the true God.  Try as they might, the prophets of Baal could get no response from their god.  When it was Elijah's turned, he had had a trench dug around the altar and then had the altar, the bull, and the trench drenched with water.  The God of Israel responded with fire from on high and burned up not only the sacrifice, but the stone altar, and all the water in the trench.

There are a couple of sites that history has pointed to as possibly being the location of this challenge, but the one viewed by most historians in on top of the mountain where a Carmelite monastery, Deir al-Muhraka, is located.  Why this spot?  Because of what happened next, after Elijah had all 450 prophets of Baal killed.  There had been a drought in the land and Elijah told his servant to look towards the sea for rain.  The servant had to look seven times, but then he saw the rain cloud, and with it, the end of the drought in Israel.  On a clear day, from the spot where the monastery has been built, you can see the Mediterranean.

From the top of Mount Carmel, looking southeast into the Jezreel Valley

Looking south from the top of Mount Carmel

In the middle of the Jezreel Valley is an Israeli Air Force base.

Looking west towards the Mediterranean Sea

On the roof of the Monastery

At the top of the monastery.  A simple cross, a simple life.

A statue of Elijah in the courtyard of the Deir al-Muhraka monastery.  I think he is standing on the head of one of the prophets of Baal.