Elijah’s Springs: Attempt 1

Dear Friends,

A while back, I heard that there is an archeological site called “Elijah’s Springs.” Apparently, the prophet Elijah hung out and did stuff there; now the Carmelites own it and are excavating the ruins of a Byzantine church and the area around the springs. Conveniently, it is located in Haifa. So, this week, I went to find it. I very carefully followed GoogleMaps. It led me to a cliff overlooking this wadi:

I’m standing on the edge of a cliff (though there is a fence).

Waaaaayyyy down below, I could see a cave and what could potentially be a garden:

There is even the corner of a building on the far left.

On the other side of the wadi, I could see some stairs down:

Ahhhh, stairs, Haifa’s great love affair

Since I had nothing else going that afternoon, I decided to to try and find those stairs. So, I found the mosque above the stairs on GoogleMaps (you can see the mosque and minarets in the second picture) and started walking over there. Sad to say, I do not get any prizes for situational awareness. For all of corona time, everyone has been going on and on about the boar taking over Haifa. I had not seen a single one. Then, I walked within four feet of this one without noticing it. When I was almost passed it, it made a snuffling sound and I jumped out of my skin. A lady looked at me like I was crazy when I turned around to take a picture. Boar are actually pretty athletic. This one leapt lightly over a small wall before continuing to snuffle around.

Piglets not pictured. They look like mini-versions of their mama here.

After failing to be aware of my surroundings, I attempted to improve. I didn’t seen any more wildlife. But I did see flowers!

Orange might be my favorite hibiscus…

Love you, Mom! Flower pictures are always for you :D.

Eventually, I made it to the other side of the wadi. At that point, I stopped at a playground to fill up my water bottle at one of the water fountains Haifa so kindly provides.

I played on the exact same thing as a kid…Is there only one playground company in the world?

The mosque was easy to find and and smaller than it looks from a distance. They were doing some construction around it, so it is either new or being renovated. It looks beautiful (like an oasis if an oasis were a building) from what I could see on the outside.

Unfortunately, I could not find the stairs down into the wadi. However, I did get a good view of the massive cemetery I’ve pass on the bus. I had no idea it was that large.

Do you see all the white among the dark trees? Those are all tombstones.

At this point, I was worn out, hungry and very sweaty. Hopefully, my next attempt to find Elijah’s Springs will be more successful!

Pax, amici!

Debora

Two very serious lions and one happy one. He’s enjoying the Mediterranean Sun.