Haifa Attractions

In 1187 Saladin captured it from the Crusaders, but in 1191 it was recovered by Richard Coeur de Lion. The Crusaders were finally expelled from the town by Sultan Baibars. The monasteries of the Carmelite order, which was founded in Haifa in 1150 by a monk named Berthold, were destroyed after the fall of Acre in 1291, when the monks returned to Europe.

Under the Mamelukes and (from 1517) the Ottomans Haifa was an insignificant fishing village. In 1740 Daher el-Amr, lord of Galilee, took the place and founded a new settlement, the present Old City, between Kikar Paris (Paris Square) and the Head Post Office. He also developed the harbor for the export of grain to Egypt. Under Ahmed el-Jazzar, who succeeded Daher in 1775, the Carmelites were able to re-establish themselves near Elijah's Cave. In 1799, during Napoleon's advance on Akko (Acre), their monastery was used as a military hospital, but after Napoleon's withdrawal the French wounded were killed by Ahmed el-Jazzar. On the outbreak of the War of Greek Independence El-Jazzar's successor Abdullah Pasha built a lighthouse (Stella Maris) at Elijah's Cave, 105m/345ft above the sea. He persecuted the Greek Orthodox but in 1828 allowed the French Carmelites to rebuild their monastery by the lighthouse.

The importance of Haifa increased with the coming of steamships, for which the nearby harbor of Akko was too small. In 1868 the Jewish population was increased by the arrival of German settlers, members of the Pietist Society of the Temple. Some of their houses have been preserved on both sides of Ben-Gurion Street, and northwest of this, in Jaffa Street, is their cemetery. When these German "Templars" sought to expand on Mount Carmel they came into conflict with the French Carmelites, who closed off much of the hill by building a wall: hence the name of "French Carmel" applied to the western part of the hill.

When the German Emperor, William II, visited Haifa in 1898 a jetty was constructed, and thereafter the development of the port continued. The Emperor promoted the idea of linking Haifa with the Hejaz railroad and thus opening up the town's hinterland. The upswing in the economy led to the expansion of the Old City to the northwest, in the direction of the Germany Colony.

The first Jewish school had been established in 1881. Christians from Lebanon and Arabs also now moved into the town, and two sects which had broken away from Islam, the Bahai from Persia and the Ahmadiya from India, made Haifa their headquarters.

At the beginning of the 20th century a number of Jewish initiatives bore fruit. In 1902 Theodor Herzl, in his book "Old New Land" had hailed Haifa as the "city of the future"; and in 1903 the outlying suburb of Herzliya was established, in 1906 three Russian Zionists founded the Atid ("Future") soap factory, and in 1912 the Technion, an institute of technology, was founded, housed in a building which the Turks used as a military hospital in 1914. When the Technion reopened in 1925 the language of instruction was Hebrew (though the German founders had favored German), and this sparked off a bitter conflict on the language question. Subsequently the Technion grew so rapidly that it became necessary by 1953 to develop a new site, Qiryat HaTechnion.

In September 1918 British forces occupied the town. Thereafter a new railroad line was built, linking Haifa with Egypt by way of Gaza. In 1920 Histadrut, the trade union organization, was founded in Haifa. The town developed new suburbs: Hadar HaKarmel ("Glory of Carmel") in 1920, Ahuzat Samuel in 1921, Bat Galim (the "Mermaid") in 1922, Geula ("Rescue") and Newe Sha'anan ("Home of Rest"). New industrial installations came into being. This development continued in spite of conflicts between the Jewish and the Arab populations. The modern deep- water harbor was completed in 1933, followed in 1934 by the development of the oil terminal at the end of the pipeline from Iraq.

In 1936, following further outbreaks of violence, the Jewish population left the eastern part of the lower town and concentrated in the Hadar HaKarmel district. Haifa was thus for all practical purposes divided into two. During the Second World War the German members of the Society of the Temple were evacuated. After the war there was continuing conflict between the Jewish underground organization Haganah, the British naval base and the Arabs - a conflict from which Haganah emerged victorious.

After the proclamation of the Jewish state in 1948 Haifa acquired great importance as the port of entry for immigrants from Europe. The economic upswing was reflected in the aspect of the city, and the tourist trade was actively promoted.