Mount Carmel is a coastal mountain in Israel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The city of Haifa is partially on Mount Carmel, and so are a few smaller towns such as Nesher, Tirat Hakarmel.

History

Mount Carmel is mentioned in the Bible. On Mount Carmel transpired the miracles attending the competition between Baal and the Israelite God, after which the priests of Baal were then put to death by the order of the prophet Elijah.

A Roman Catholic religious order, the Carmelites was founded on Mount Carmel in the 12th century by a certain Berthold (d. after 1185) who was either a pilgrim or crusader. The order grew to be one of the major Catholic religious orders worldwide. Carmelite tradition suggests that a community of Jewish hermits lived on Mount Carmel from the time of Elijah, although no documentary evidence of such a community exists.

The Shrine of the Báb and the Bahá'í Faith

The Shrine of the Báb is on the side of Mount Carmel in the middle of the Bahá'í owned terraces. Also on located on Mount Carmel are a set of Bahá'í administrative buildings referred to as the Arc. This makes Mount Carmel a very significant location to the members of the Bahá'í Faith.

Other uses of the name

Many other mountains and places around the world have been named Carmel after the biblical mountain. See the disambiguation articles Mount Carmel and Carmel for a list of them.