Like most Israeli cities, Haifa is rooted in the past. Recent digs at Tel
Shiqmona, on the coast just south of Haifa, have brought to light buildings
from the First Temple period down to Seleucid times.
Haifa's rich history stretches back millennia. Discoveries
from as far back as the Bronze Age show that a small port was located near this
site. The area was also settled in Roman and Greek times.
Biblical references to the Mt. Carmel region include a
mention of Elijah's cave and Mt. Carmel itself, where the prophet Elijah
challenged the pagan priests of Ba'al. The Talmud does not neglect the area
either; it tells us that the shellfish from which the purple dye for the
traditional tallit or prayer shawl was made came from the coast around this
area.
After the Crusader invasion and conquest, when the town's
Jewish defenders were slaughtered, Haifa began a slow decline. Other conquests
followed: by Saladin in 1187, by the Mamelukes in 1265. But for hundreds of
years, Haifa remained an insignificant, impoverished backwater.
By the 17th century, Haifa had begun to revive and develop
again. Destroyed once again by a local leader to prevent its capture by the Turks
in 1761, Haifa was re-established at its present site.
At the beginning of the 19th century, Haifa had about 4,000
inhabitants, many of whom were Christian Arabs. The German Templer settlers who
arrived in the mid-1800s made important contributions to the town's growth and
industrialization.
Haifa received real impetus for growth when it was linked by
rail with Damascus and Egypt in the period before the First World War, making
the town an important waystation. Later, when the British wrested control of
Palestine from the Turks, the port was further expanded and developed and Haifa
became a significant maritime centre.
When Jews returned to Israel, Haifa became a major target of
settlement; indeed Theodor Herzl urged Jews to develop Haifa, which he called
``the city of the future.'' During the early years of the 20th century, the
population grew in great leaps: from 20,000 in 1914 to 50,000 in 1931, to
150,000 (of which Jews made up a third) in 1948. Many of the city's Arabs
subsequently left when the British evacuated the city that year.
Haifa became a centre for Jewish immigration in the period of Nazi oppression, when thousands entered through the port. It continued to develop and grow, and today, with a quarter of a million residents, is headquarters to the Israeli Navy, Israel Railways, the Israel Electric Company and the giant contracting firm Solel Boneh. Haifa is also home to Matam, a giant high-tech center, Intel, Elbit and Elscint, as well as several smaller Israeli companies.It is also the world centre of the Bahai sect, with its remarkable gold-domed sanctuary and magnificent gardens on the slopes of Mt. Carmel.