It is one of the largest cities in historical Palestine. It is located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, about 158 kilometers from Jerusalem to the northwest. It was first inhabited by the Canaanite Arabs. It was conquered by Muslims during the time of Caliph Omar ibn al-Khattab, and the commercial movement there flourished during the time of the Ottomans.
In the 1948 war, the Israelis seized it, expelled its residents, and confiscated its property. Arabs became a minority there, as their percentage currently does not exceed 12%.
The city was an important commercial center before the Nakba, as it was the destination of labor from various cities in the Arab region. Today it is the third largest city in Israel in terms of population. It has become a major industrial and commercial center, and is full of archaeological and historical monuments that are still standing in the face of Judaization and demolition plans.
the site
Haifa is located on the Mediterranean coast in northern Palestine at the confluence of latitude 32.49 north and longitude 35 east.
The city meets the Mediterranean Sea at the edge of the coastal plain and Mount Carmel to the southwestern side, and rises 450 meters above sea level.
Present-day Haifa extends from the Jewish settlements at the northern end to the outskirts of the town of Tirat Carmel to the south, and from Ras al-Carmel near Maqam al-Khader to the outskirts of Isfiya at the southeastern end.
Etymology
The name Haifa appeared during the Roman Empire, when the Latin name “Iva” was given to a Roman fort on the city’s current site.
Some point out that “Haifa” is Arabic in origin and is derived from the word “Al-Haifa,” meaning “the district.”
Some specialists in the Aramaic language believe that the name is a compound of the words “Hayy” and “Fay’”, and the word “Fay’” corresponds to the Arabic word “Al-Fayd”, as the letter Ain in Aramaic corresponds to the letter Dād in Arabic, and the meaning of the name is the place where good deeds abound and overflow. It has abundant water.
The Crusaders called it “Khivas”, “Kaivas”, or “Kayfa”. Researchers in Christian history believe that the name is attributed to Saint Peter, nicknamed and known as “Kiva”, which is an Aramaic word meaning rock. They also sometimes called it “Cycamenon.” In Greek, it means mulberry tree, and it was named that because of the large number of mulberry trees there.
As for the oldest mention of Haifa in Islamic sources, it was mentioned by the Persian traveler Nasir Khusraw in his famous journey, “Safar Nama,” when he mentioned that he stayed there in the year 438 AH/1046 AD, and described the palm groves and abundant and diverse trees there.
She was also mentioned by Al-Sharif Al-Idrisi (560 AH / 1160 AD) in his famous book “Nuzhat Al-Mushtaq fi Penetrating the Horizons”, as mentioned by Yaqut Al-Hamwi (626 AH / 1228 AD). He indicated in “Mu’jam Al-Buldan” that her name was taken from “Haifa” meaning injustice and oppression. .
the date
Historical sources reveal that human settlement in the region dates back to the Paleolithic era, as scientists found the remains of human skeletons in a cave in Mount Carmel dating back to that period. They also found animal skulls and drawings carved on the rock.
The first people to inhabited it were the Canaanite Arabs who built the city of Haifa, two kilometers south of present-day Haifa. It was conquered during the reign of Caliph Omar ibn al-Khattab by Amr ibn al-Aas in the year 13 AH/634 AD. During this period, a number of Arab tribes settled in Palestine, especially in areas Palestinian coast.
Haifa remained part of the Islamic state throughout the Umayyad and Abbasid eras until the Abbasid Caliphate weakened, after which the city became affiliated with the Fatimids. Then the Crusaders captured it in the year 493 AH/1100 AD after a siege that lasted a month, and it was known at that time as “Kaivas” or “Kiva”.
Haifa returned to the Muslims in 583 AH/1188 AD after the Battle of Hattin, in which Saladin defeated the Crusaders and subsequently regained many Palestinian cities, including Jerusalem.
This defeat was a painful blow to the Crusaders, who united by order of the Pope and launched a third Crusade, one of the results of which was the conclusion of the Peace of Ramla in 1192 AD between Saladin al-Ayyubi and the King of England, Richard the Lionheart. Among its provisions was the Crusaders’ retention of the coastal cities, including the city of Haifa.
Haifa became part of the Ottoman Empire during the reign of Sultan Selim I (922 AH / 1516 AD), and remained so until the end of the 19th century, when it became subject to the British Mandate after Britain emerged victorious from World War I in 1918 AD.
In 1948, the Jews took control of the city with the complicity of the British military ruler, forcing the Palestinian residents to leave, confiscating their property, and destroying their villages.
Before 1948, Haifa included 18 tribes and 52 Palestinian villages, many of which were destroyed and Israeli settlements were built on their ruins. It now included 90 settlements.
Terrain and climate
The city is distinguished by its flat plain lands alongside the high lands of Mount Carmel. This mountain is a natural extension of the Nablus Mountains towards the northwest, and penetrates into the Mediterranean Sea.
The city of Haifa has a Mediterranean climate that is hot and dry in summer and rainy in winter. The average annual temperature is 20-21 degrees Celsius, and ranges between 12 degrees Celsius in winter and 28 degrees Celsius in summer.
Economic features
Before the Nakba, the city of Haifa was an important commercial and economic center, attracting labor from various neighboring countries.
It was famous for growing crops such as wheat, barley, lentils, citrus fruits, and vegetables, and was characterized by the abundance of grape, olive, mulberry, and almond trees growing on the Carmel Heights.
Haifa is an important commercial, industrial and tourist center, as it includes many religious, historical and tourist attractions that encourage visiting.
It also has the second largest oil refinery, and its port is one of the largest of Israel’s three main international ports.
Population
The city of Haifa is the third largest city in occupied Palestine in terms of population after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
In June 2022, the city’s population reached 285,000 people, according to data from the Central Statistics Office.
Haifa is classified as a mixed city, which is a city inhabited by a Jewish majority and a prominent Arab minority, according to the definition of the Israeli Bureau of Statistics. In this city and other mixed cities, both Palestinians and Israelis live in separate residential compounds.
Palestinian Arabs constituted 73% of Haifa’s population in 1932, compared to 27% of Jews, and their percentage in 2019 became about 12%, compared to 76% of Jews. Most of them live in the neighborhoods of Al-Kababir, Al-Halisa, Wadi Nisnas, Wadi Jamal, Abbas, and Al-Karma.
Haifa landmarks
Haifa includes many religious and historical landmarks that encourage tourists to visit them, including:
The Little Mosque or the White Mosque
An archaeological mosque in the old city of Haifa. It is considered one of the oldest mosques in the city. It was built by the ruler of Galilee, Sheikh Zahir al-Omar al-Zaydani in 1761 AD. It was demolished and tens of dunums (a dunum is equivalent to a thousand square metres) of its land were confiscated. The Israeli authorities closed it after the Nakba, and part of it was demolished. Today it is closed and prayers are not held there.
The mosque consists of 3 connected rooms with an area of up to 134 square metres, surmounted by a conical minaret in the style of the Ottoman style, which rises 7 meters above the roof of the mosque.
Haifa Great Mosque
An ancient mosque dating back to the Ottoman era in Palestine, located in the old town of Haifa, and it is the second oldest mosque in Haifa after the Small Mosque.
Its real and official name is “Al-Nasr Mosque”, built by the Ottoman naval commander Hassan Pasha Al-Jazairli in commemoration of his victory over Zahir Al-Omar Al-Zaydani in 1775 AD.
It is also called Al-Juraina Mosque, a word of Aramaic origin that means “open square” because of the presence of a large stone square in front of it that was designated for grain intended for export abroad through the port of Haifa.
In 1901, the Ottomans built the clock tower on the roof of the mosque, one of 7 towers erected in a number of Palestinian cities to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Sultan Abdul Hamid II on the throne.
Istiklal Mosque
It was built by the Islamic Society in Haifa, and the foundation stone was laid on the first of Muharram in the year 1342 AH / August 14, 1923 AD, as indicated by the memorial inscription on the upper floor of the mosque.
The inauguration of the mosque coincided with the arrival of Sheikh Izz al-Din al-Qassam from Daraa in Syria after the French colonial rule had sentenced him to death. Sheikh al-Qassam assumed the imamate and preaching in the Istiqlal Mosque from its opening until he was martyred in 1935, then his brother Fakhr al-Din al-Qassam assumed its imamate from 1935 until 1948.
After the occupation of the city of Haifa, the Jews closed the mosque and it remained closed until it was opened in 1977 during the visit of former Egyptian President Muhammad Anwar Sadat to the city, where he led prayers.
In 1991, the Islamic Movement, headed by Sheikh Raed Salah, established a volunteer work camp in the mosque, during which the mosque was opened throughout the day, and since then it has remained open for the five daily prayers in it, and it is one of 3 mosques in the city open for prayer.
Baha’i Hanging Gardens
Also called the Hanging Gardens of Haifa, they are gardens that cascade over Mount Carmel and extend for hundreds of hectares to the Mediterranean Sea. They were built by an Iranian engineer named Frebers Sahba in 1987 AD. These 19 gardens are distinguished by their beauty and precise geometric symmetry.
The gardens were opened to the public in 2001, and were included on the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2008.
These vast gardens surround the Baha’i International Center, which includes a building with a golden dome called the “Dome of Abbas.” He was one of the missionaries of the Baha’i faith. He was executed in Iran in 1850 and his remains were transferred to Haifa. Next to it is the shrine or shrine of Abdu’l-Baha (Abbas Effendi), who is the son of Baha’u’llah. Founder of the Baha’i faith.
Monastery and Church of Stella Maris
The Stella Maris Monastery in Haifa was established in 1631 on a rocky outcrop on Mount Carmel overlooking the sea by a number of monks who settled there. The monastery includes a cave said to be the cave in which the Prophet Elijah (Elias) retreated.
These monks were called the Carmelites, a religious group belonging to the Catholic Church, and their name is derived from Mount Carmel, where they settled on its slopes at the end of the 12th century during the Crusades.
The monastery and a church that had been built next to it were demolished, and in 1836 the current monastery and church were built on the eastern side of the main road opposite the lighthouse. Three years after the church was built, Pope Gregory the 16th granted it the title of “small basilica,” and from then on the place was called “Stella.” Maris means “star of the sea”.
Cathedral of Saint Louis the King
Also known as the Saint Louis Maronite Church, it is located in the Old City. It was built in 1880 AD during the time of Sultan Abdul Hamid II and on land donated by the brothers Ibrahim and Salim Al-Khoury.