• Back

Historic Sites

Stella Maris Monastery
When the Crusaders withdrew from the Holy Land in 1291, the Carmelite monks left with them. In Europe, the monks spread word of their order, which for the next several hundred years sustained a vigorous existence far from its place of origin on the slopes of Mount Carmel. The order's return to Haifa was made possible in the 17th century, during the Ottoman period, when the Bedouin Turabay family ruled Mount Carmel and Haifa and practiced tolerance toward non-Muslim inhabitants. At first, the Carmelites tried to establish themselves in Elijah's Cave, but were chased up the mountain by Muslim dervishes and founded their monastery on the mountaintop instead. In 1821, the ruler of Acre blew up the monastery. The order rebuilt a new monastery, which was consecrated in 1836 and stands in place still today.