Stella Maris Monastery

The headquarters of the Carmelite religious order, perched at the western tip of Mount Carmel above the Mediterranean. The current church dates from the 1830s and shelters a small cave traditionally venerated as the prophet Elijah's refuge.

Outside the church a French naval cemetery commemorates Napoleon's soldiers who died here in 1799. The monastery is the upper terminus of the cable car from Bat Galim beach, the easiest way up.

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The Carmelite order was founded on this mountain in the 12th century, and the monastery sits over a cave traditionally identified as Elijah's, where the prophet sheltered before his contest with the priests of Baal. The current church was built in 1836, on the third reconstruction of the original Crusader chapel.