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Pilgrimage in the Holy Land
St John Phocas, tr. Stewart, 1889
Chapter 31
Beyond this is the Mount Carmel, about which we read much both in the Old and the New Testament. It is a long ridge, beginning at the Bay of Ptolemaïs and Caipha,1 and reaching as far as the mountains of Galilee. At the end of the range which is nearest to the sea is the cave of the prophet Elias, in which that marvellous man, after having lived like the angels, was caught up into Heaven. At this place there was once a large monastery, as the ruined buildings which remain at the present day tell us; but time, which wears out all things, and successive invasions of the enemy, have ruined it utterly. However, some time ago a monk, an ordained priest, with white hair, a native of Calabria, in consequence of a vision of the prophet, came to that place, where he dwelt in the ruins of the monastery, having built a little rampart, and a tower, and a small church, and collected together about ten brethren: and he inhabits that holy place at this day.
Notes
- Haifa.