PEACEFUL SCENES OF HAIFA AND THE NORTHERN ISRAELI COAST
by Michelle Bienias
Photographer Yuval Levy, a Haifa native currently living in Canada, shot the following panoramas while on vacation in Israel in June 2006, before the recent fighting broke out. More of Levy’s panos can be found on his website, Photopla.net.Haifa, a Mediterranean seaport located on and below Mount Carmel, has a population of approximately 270,000 and is the third largest city in Israel. View of Haifa from Mount Carmel
Levy describes the pano: “North is Haifa bay with Israel's most busy seaport, currently closed because of the rockets assault by Hezbollah. On the right the Bahai Shrine is visible. … Down at the port the big long grey building is a grain chamber. Further west on the horizon is a big white building, Rambam hospital, with state of the art facilities to treat explosion traumas. On the mountain, further west, is the neighbourhood of Stella Maris, famous with tourists for its Carmelite monastery and breathtaking view. A rocket exploded there recently.” 
View of Haifa from Mount Carmel
Old Railroad on Border Between Israel and Lebanon
“This was meant to be the last railroad station and border checkpoint on the railways connecting Beirut to Haifa, built by the Brits between the world wars,” Levy explains. “One side of the tunnel goes south to Israel. The other side went north to Lebanon. It has been destroyed to avoid terrorist infiltrations.” 
Old Railroad on Border Between Israel and Lebanon
Coves Inside Limestone Cliff
“The Mediterranean Sea has carved coves inside the limestone cliff and in peaceful times this is a tourist attraction,” says Levy. “The combination of seawater and limestone yield a beautiful color combination.” 
Coves Inside Limestone Cliff
Sunset Through the Cove
“The sun at sunset pierces through the main hole to the coves, amplified by the reflection of the water,” explains Levy, postproduced this panorama with Photomatix. 
Sunset Through the Cove
View of the Mediterranean from Rosh HaNikra
“The limestone cliff at the border to Lebanon is quite unique on the Israeli coast, most of which is made of very fine sand that flows with the Nile from Africa,” reports Levy, who adds his hopes for peace in the region “so that these beautiful places will be accessible to tourists again”. 
Mediterranean from Rosh HaNikra
Related Articles:
- ROSH PINA, GALILEE – BEFORE THE ROCKETS
- DISCOVER LEBANON
Contact Yuval Levy at http://www.photopla.net/
Comments? mbienias[at]gmail[dot]com
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