Although the first settlement in the area has been dated to the 14th century BCE, it was and stayed a small village until the middle of the 19th century. The first push to growth and modernization came when members of the German Christian Templars settled there in 1868. They built and operated a steam based power station, opened factories and established a carriage service to Acco, Nazareth and Tiberias. The area they built is still known as The German Colony. The area has seen an almost complete restoration, and is today one of the “in” areas for good dining and living.

German Colony late 1930's

The next boost was in the late 19th century when European Jews settled there, developed agriculture and commerce. During the following waves of immigration many settled in Haifa, which was developing into the industrial area of the country. A further boost came during the British Mandate, when they built deep sea port, opened in 1933 and the oil refinery completed in 1944).

During the War of Independence the great majority of Arab residents of Haifa fled, so that today they are app. 10% of the total population.

Bahai Shrine, most famous landmark in Haifa

In 1909 The Bab, the forerunner for the Bahai faith, was laid to rest on land sloping down from the top of the Carmel Mountain to its base. Over the years, the Shrine has been enlarged and improved, and received its final shape in the 1950′s. The Shrine of the Bab, the second holiest place to the Bahai, and the surrounding 19 layers of terraced gardens have become one of the most famous landmarks of Haifa.

Haifa is today Israel’s third largest city with a municipal population of app. 275.000. But metropolitan Haifa includes a population of up to 600.000. It is the largest mixed population, with the majority being Jewish (90%), but with large minorities of Arabs (Christian and Muslim) as well as Druze.

Government building with port in background

For years Haifa was known as the “red” city, referring to the predominant population of manual workers. This was also expressed in the saying “Haifa works, Jerusalem prays, and Tel Aviv plays”. True, round Haifa are some of the largest industrial complexes in Israel (due in part to the proximity of the port). True, the port still plays a vital role in the economy of Haifa both as a commercial port and as a port for cruise ships. It also has the largest and oldest business park in the country (Matam).

But culture has always played an important part in the life of its residents.  It boasts the first municipal theater, as well as other theaters, The Haifa Cinematheque and congress halls. There are dozens of museums, as well as major institutions for higher learning, two of them with international credit – Haifa University and the Technion.

It is also still the only town in Israel with a subway and a cable car.
In short there is plenty to do and see while visiting Haifa.

Sites to see:
The Bahai Shrine and Gardens
Haifa Cable Car
Stella Maris and Elijah’s Cave
Israel National Museum of Science, Technology, and Space
Clandestine Immigration and Navy Museum

Jerusalem on Yom Kippur

This was by no means my first Yom Kippur in Israel. I have seen major cities die from all traffic on this day, but it was the first time I was able to experience the completely empty highways.

Yom Kippur is the holiest day for Jews all over the world. In English it is usually called The Day of Atonement. It is best known as a full fasting day, lasting from sundown to sundown. It is a complete fast, meaning you can’t drink or eat anything for the 25 hours that it lasts. You are supposed to spend the day in the synagogue.

Now in Israel this is taken very seriously. In fact the whole country closes down, and I mean completely. It is more closed on this one day, than on any shabbat through the year. When I say closed down for Yom Kippur it means not just no work, for anybody, but it means no radio, no television, no entertainment of any kind, and it means no cars on the road.

Now even though a very large part of the Israeli population does not fast, all will respect this day, which means that we all accept that there is no television and radio, and none of us will drive during this day.

I can’t express this in words, and I am not sure you will really understand this, but the country becomes quiet, totally quiet., the kind of quiet the world lived with until the invention of cars. I love this quiet. It comes from having no cars on the roads, like a silent white noise that we don’t really hear, but is there all the time.

So what was different this Yom Kippur? This year I spent it with my daughter and her family on the moshav. Their moshav is right off one of Israel’s major highways, route no. 2, between Tel Aviv and Haifa.

As is the habit all over Israel, on the evening we go walking, and the children get on their bikes. They can drive everywhere without fear of cars. There are none.

So last night we walked to route no. 2, and we walked on route no. 2. The kids were racing down the three-lanes highway. The teenagers were sitting on the barrier separating the north bound lane from the south bound lane. The younger children were drawing on the tarmac of the highway. This went on very late, and continued the next day, at least the biking.

We hung around there for a couple of hours together with a great number of other residents of the moshav. And in all that time we only saw two cars, both of them police cars with their flashing blue lights.

I had wanted to bring my video camera to document this extraordinary scene. Now I am truly sorry that I didn’t, because I know none of the people there would have minded. So it will have to wait till next Yom Kippur for me to show you how a country can close down completely for 24 hours, and have bicycles races on the highways. The two pictures I found on google will have to do.