Carmel in the Holy Land — The Carmelite Fathers

Muhraqa

This is a Carmelite place associated with Elijah, that could be believed a little "forgotten"… Nevertheless it is of primary importance for several reasons. One among many is its natural beauty. There you find a really small sanctuary where there are residing, depending on circumstances, one or more Carmelite priests or friars.

Take a close look. It is worth the effort.

For a start, what does the name mean?
In Arabic "muhraqa" means literally "the hearth, fireplace" or the burning pile. In the present case, it signifies : "A place of fire or better The place of Elijah's altar".

Because, according to tradition, it is quite close to where Elijah offered the sacrifice consumed by fire from heaven, on the summit situated at the end of the Carmel chain, around 30 kilometres from Stella Maris.

Among all the other places at present in charge of the Discalced Carmelites in the Holy Land, this one strikes you with its exceptional meaning, both on the biblical and the Carmelite level, if you take a close look at history. Because it is the only place directly connected to a precise biblical episode, and where there is the certitude that these biblical events unfolded in this very place, in the IX century before Christ.

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