Haifa - II

As I was saying, there is a cave in the church under the altar - Elijah's cave for Christians(...also by tradition a place where the holy family with Jesus hid from King Herod). But my guide book said that Elijah's cave was down the hill, so I started walking on a rough path - and lo and behold, the Jewish site of Elijah's cave! There were several members of the Jewish faith praying, men on one side and women on the other - this is one of the holiest sites in Israel, and it is hard to find. Then I went looking for the "Clandestine Immigration and Navy Museum" at the foot of the mountain (having planned to get out of the sun and learn about Israel in its own words) but because I was not with a group and could not speak Hebrew - the young men at the door asked for my passport - which was in Tel Aviv - and I was not able to enter the museum. I was very disappointed, as my guidebook had not suggested a problem like this. I caught a bus, wandered around trying to find the Bahai Gardens - THE tourist destination in Haifa - and finally found them/ 18 beautifully groomed terraces/ I was standing at the bottom and decided not to go into the ground, just peak through the fence. Decided to eat lunch and regroup - went to a restaurant in the German Colony (buildings constructed by Christian German Zionists who came to Palestine in the late 1800's beinging improved methods of transportation and agriculture to the land). Asked at the Tourist Office if the University museam was within walking distance, and the staff person laughed at me - "It will be closed by the time you get there!" and then turned to answer someone else's question. O K A Y Somehow I was missing Haifa's charm. So I decided to try one more thing - take the Carmelit/funicular/metro to the high class district on the mountaintop for the view of the harbor and coastline. It was striking - amd I decided to walk down and down and down, which was interesting for the architecture and obvious Russian Jewish area I was passing through. Closer to the harbor,the housing is very poor - mostly Arab Christians, I think. Tired but satisfied, I took the train and bus back to the hostel. A day in Haifa was enough.