Bible Questions and Answer

Mount Carmel isn't a single peak but a mountain ridge about 24 miles (39 km) long in northern Israel. It runs from the Mediterranean coast at Haifa southeast toward the Jezreel Valley. Its highest point is about 1,800 feet (546 meters). The name means something like "garden land" or "God's vineyard," and in Bible times it was known for being green and fruitful, with forests and pastures, compared to the drier land to the south. The prophets used it as a picture of beauty and fertility. On the southeastern end of the ridge is a place called Muhraqa, Arabic for "place of burning," where a Carmelite monastery marks the traditional site of Elijah's contest with the prophets of Baal. At the northern end, above Haifa, stands the Stella Maris Monastery. The Carmelite order of monks and nuns takes its name from this mountain, where hermits lived in Elijah's memory during the Crusades.