Attractions at Daliat al-Carmel – Visitors Guide
Daliat al-Carmel is a Druze town situated on Mount Carmel, approximately 20 km southeast of Haifa. Today, we are going to visit it.
Table of Contents
Attractions at Daliat al-Carmel
Here are the most popular attractions at Daliat al-Carmel:
- Sam Halaby’s House of Colors
- The longest graffiti wall in Israel
- Laurence Oliphant House and Druze Memorial Center
- The Old Village
- Culinary Tourism
- Muhraqa Carmelite Monastery
Notes:
- In the following sections, we will elaborate on attractions two through five. Attractions one and six have links to dedicated posts.
- The Muhraqa Carmelite Monastery is just a five-minute drive from Daliat al-Carmel.
Map
On the following map, you can see the listed points of interest.
You can use the directions links below to get to the Old Village.
Directions for drivers: Link to Waze and Link to Google Maps
Directions for public transport: Link to Moovit
Interactive map of the area:
Parking
You can find free parking in various areas of the city. I suggest avoiding Road #672 near Old Village, as it often gets congested. Consider parking on the nearby streets instead.
The longest graffiti wall in Israel
When driving on Road #672, you will come across the longest graffiti wall in Israel. The 550-meter graffiti was painted on a wall around the local soccer stadium. This graffiti features many charming works of art, including Druze sheikhs, well-known cartoon characters, and more.
It is worth stopping when you are in the area.
Here are several photos:
Laurence Oliphant House and Druze Memorial Center
From the longest graffiti wall in Israel, we drove along the main road and parked in one of the small streets near the Old Village. And then we walked through the Old Village to Laurence Oliphant House.
Close to the Abu Ibrahim shrine is the home of Sir Laurence Oliphant, who spent his summers there in the 1880s with his wife, Alice, and his secretary, Naftali Herz Imber. The building functions as a museum, the Druze Memorial Center, commemorating the 505 Druze IDF soldiers who have died in the line of duty since 1948.
Sir Laurence Oliphant was a South African-born British author, traveller, diplomat, British intelligence agent, Christian mystic, and Christian Zionist. The best-known book of his lifetime was the satirical novel Piccadilly (1870).
Source: Wikipedia
Note: His secretary, Naftali Herz Imber, was a Jewish Hebrew-language poet, most notable for writing “Hatikvah”, the poem that became the basis for the Israeli national anthem.
The Old Village
From Laurence Oliphant House, we walked back to the Old Village. You’ll notice a large sign above the street that reads “The Old Village.” This area spans approximately 250 meters and features beautiful art installations. Here are a few examples:
Culinary Tourism
One of the primary reasons many Israelis visit Daliat al-Carmel is culinary tourism. Culinary tourism can be divided into two categories:
- Eating out – there are many restaurants and coffee shops. One of the latest trends in Daliat al-Carmel is the proliferation of Shawarma places. On our latest visit, we ate at one of the higher-rated places, and it was tasty. Also, as you can see at Sam Halaby’s House of Colors, there are cafes with French-style desserts.
- Shopping – during our latest visit, we purchased coffee beans at a roastery. We also bought spices and herbal tea.
Summary
During our latest visit, we spent about three hours at Daliat al-Carmel. If you also visit Sam Halaby’s House of Colors, it will take longer. It is a lovely place, and we typically combine it with a visit to one of the nearby trails. Additional points of interest are marked on the interactive map at the top of this page.
Have you ever been to the Daliat al-Carmel? Tell us about your experience in the comments below.
That’s all for today, and I’ll see you on future trips!
Stay Tuned!
Additional Resources
Here are several resources that I created to help travelers:- Trip Planner with Attractions and Itineraries is the page that will help you create your perfect travel route.
- What is the Best Time to visit Israel? To answer this question, we will consider the weather, prices, holidays, festivals, and more.
- Information and Tips for Tourists to Israel will answer the most common questions tourists have about Israel (including safety, passports, weather, currency, tipping, electricity, and much more).
- Israel National Parks and Nature Reserves include a complete list, top ten, map, tickets (Israel Pass, Matmon, combo), and campsites.
- If you are looking for things to do, here are the pages for Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Sea Of Galilee, Akko (Acre), Eilat, Nazareth, Safed (Tzfat), and Makhtesh Ramon.
