Haifa is the third-largest city in the State of Israel. It is home to the Bahá'í World Centre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a destination for Baha'i pilgrims. Built on the slopes of Mount Carmel, the settlement has a history spanning more than 3,000 years. The earliest known settlement in the vicinity was Tell Abu Hawam, a small port city established in the Late Bronze Age (14th century BCE). In the 3rd century CE, Haifa was known as a dye-making center.
Today, the city is a major seaport located on Israel's Mediterranean coastline in the Bay of Haifa covering 63.7 square kilometres (24.6 sq mi). The city plays an important role in Israel's economy. It is also home to Matam, one of the oldest and largest high-tech parks in the country. Haifa Bay is a center of heavy industry, petroleum refining and chemical processing. Haifa formerly functioned as the western terminus of an oil pipeline from Iraq via Jordan.
The trip that Max planned for us kept our relative travel inexperience in mind. It gave us sufficient variety in terms of locales and points of interest to make the trip navigable yet interesting and at the same time, comfortable and relatively stress-free. As a long experienced traveller himself, he chose our hotel locations well so as to have many points of interest in each of our destinations well accessible. We were able to see and experience many points of interest in each city we found ourselves in without having to depend on taxi or transit services. We walked a great deal as was our choice. Intercity travel had some challenges but this was entirely out of Max’s control. We were able to get to where we needed to be without significant disruption. Overall, Max’s experience as a seasoned traveller himself served us in good stead. We had a well thought out itinerary and had a wonderful experience.
