Haifa

Terraced gardens of the Bab

Sunday 11 November: It's been raining now for three days and more storms are forecast. I really don't want to face a wet and muddy two-day hike to the coast particularly as there is little to see en-route. So, a little reluctantly, I take the morning bus to Haifa.
When I arrive at the Port Inn in Downtown Haifa it's still raining but, after lunch, the clouds clear and I take the vernacular metro (91st mode of transport) to the ridge of Mt Carmel. The views over the port towards Akko are good but what I've really come to see here are The Baha'i Gardens. An UNESCO World Heritage Site, the nineteen garden terraces grace the northern slope of Mt Carmel and serve to landscape the golden-domed shrine of Bab, the martyr-prophet of the Baha'i faith, who's remains were secretly smuggled here after he was executed in Iran in 1850.
Sadly access is limited as the wet paths are deemed too slippery for visitors, maybe  tomorrow.
Slideshow of Haifa.