We started our day feeding a mama and her kittens at Tantur, trying to get them socialized with people. It took us an hour, but we were finally able to pet them all!
We left Jerusalem and took a train to Tel Aviv airport (30 min) before catching a second train to Haifa (an hour and a half).
Stella Maris Monastery
This was a fast trip with our goal to visit one of the seven sites of the Line of St. Michael – one of our pilgrimages within a pilgrimage. The church sits atop Mount Carmel overlooking Haifa and it’s beautiful coastline. We were surprised to find that the altar is built over one of two Caves of Elijah found on Mount Carmel. It is said that Elijah apparently prayed at one of these two grottos before successfully challenging the priests of Baal as described in 1 Kings 18. It was here in this grotto that he may have also hidden from Jezebel who put a price on his head after this confrontation.
Across the street from the church we stumbled upon a wonderful restaurant. We followed signs down a series of stairs as it was built into the side of Mount Carmel. We had to take some food pics because it was an incredible meal! At 4p, it was our first meal of the day and we worked up an appetite walking up Mount Carmel. The owner of the restaurant and his son were so friendly and, as their only customers at this odd hour, gave us suggestions for (way too much) food. It was so good and the view gorgeous!
Learned something new… We were so surprised to discover this place in the middle of Haifa on Mount Carmel. We first thought it was a mosque, but learned that it was instead a holy place of the Baha’i Faith and holds the tomb of its founder. It is massive and impeccably maintained. We Googled and learned that it was founded in 19th century by a man named Bab from Iran. At the heart of Baha’i teaching is the goal of a unified world order that ensures the prosperity of all nations, races, creeds, and classes. Baha’i teachings state that God is too great for humans to fully comprehend, so humans cannot create an accurate image of God without the help of His prophets -like Abraham, Mohammed, Jesus, and himself. There are reportedly over eight million adherents to the Baha’i Faith worldwide.
