Carmel, Mount

Carmel, Mount

▪ mountain ridge, Israel
Hebrew  Har Ha-karmel 
 mountain range, northwestern Israel; the city of Haifa is on its northeastern slope. It divides the Plain of Esdraelon (ʿEmeq Yizreʿel) and the Galilee (east and north) from the coastal Plain of Sharon (south). A northwest–southeast-trending limestone ridge, about 16 mi (26 km) long, it covers an area of about 95 sq mi (245 sq km). Its seaward point, Rosh ha-Karmel (Cape Carmel), almost reaches the Mediterranean; there the coastal plain is only 600 ft (180 m) wide. The mountain's highest point, 1,791 ft above sea level, is northwest of the village of ʿIsfiyā. The name, dating back to biblical times, is derived from the Hebrew kerem (“vineyard” or “orchard”) and attests to the mountain's fertility even in ancient times.

      Sanctified since early times, Mt. Carmel is mentioned as a “holy mountain” in Egyptian records of the 16th century BC. As a “high place,” it was long a centre of idol worship, and its outstanding reference in the Bible is as the scene of Elijah's confrontation with the false prophets of Baal (I Kings 18). Mt. Carmel was also sacred to the early Christians; individual hermits settled there as early as the 6th century AD. The Carmelites (Carmelite), a Roman Catholic monastic order, were founded in 1150; they received their first rule, or laws and regulations governing the conduct of their order, in 1206–14. Their monastery (rebuilt 1828) is near the traditional site of Elijah's miracle.

      There are many fine parks and woods on the slopes of the mountain, both within the city of Haifa and outside it. Much of the wooded area is included in the Carmel Nature Reserve. On the southwest slopes are caves where archaeologists found (1931–32) Stone Age human skeletons of a type previously unknown.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • CARMEL, MOUNT — (Heb. הַר הַכַּרְמֶל), mountain range on the northernmost coastal plain of Israel. The range branches off from the Samarian Mountains and runs toward the Mediterranean coast. Its eastern border is the Jezreel Valley, in the south it is bordered… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Carmel, Mount — • A well known mountain ridge in Palestine, usually called in the Hebrew Bible Hakkarmel Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006 …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Carmel,Mount — Car·mel (kärʹməl), Mount A limestone ridge of northwest Israel extending about 24 km (15 mi) from the Plain of Esdraelon northwest to the Mediterranean Sea. It rises to approximately 546 m (1,790 ft). * * * …   Universalium

  • Carmel, Mount — geographical name mountain ridge NW Israel; highest point 1791 feet (546 meters) …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Carmel, Mount — A hill of 168m. (556 feet) overlooking the sea. In its region Elijah and the prophets of Baal engaged in a struggle for the nation s allegiance (1 Kgs. 18). Elijah s triumph eliminated the threat of the religion of Melkart which the queen Jezebel …   Dictionary of the Bible

  • Carmel, Mount — …   Useful english dictionary

  • Mount Carmel — Mount Carmel, OH U.S. Census Designated Place in Ohio Population (2000): 4308 Housing Units (2000): 1790 Land area (2000): 1.683249 sq. miles (4.359596 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 1.683249 sq …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Mount Carmel —     Mount Carmel     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Mount Carmel     A well known mountain ridge in Palestine, usually called in the Hebrew Bible Hakkarmel (with the definite article), the garden or the garden land. In later Hebrew it is known simply… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Mount Carmel Cemetery (Hillside, Illinois) — Mount Carmel Cemetery The Bishops Mausoleum at Mount Carmel Cemetery. Details Year established 1901 Country United States …   Wikipedia

  • Mount Carmel (Illinois) — Mount Carmel Ciudad de los Estados Unidos …   Wikipedia Español

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