• Half-day tour of Haifa that uncovers the city’s many surprising historical connections to the Indian subcontinent.
• Visit the Baha’I Garden overlook to learn about this modern faith tradition and its relation to India.
• Explore the battlefield where Indian Lancers defeated an entrenched Turkish gun position.
• Meet members of the Ahmadiyya Islamic movement that originated in Qadian, India to learn about their faith. 
• Drive through the German Colony to the World War I British War Cemetery to hear the story of the “Hero of Haifa,” Major Thakur Dalpat Singh. 
• Optional: This tour can be extended to a full-day tour including a traditional lunch and visits to Stella Maris Church and Prophet Elijah’s Cave. 

This half-day tour of Haifa explores the surprising and longstanding connections between the coastal city of Haifa and the Indian subcontinent. Home to no fewer than six major faith traditions and numerous minorities, few cities in Israel – and even fewer in the Middle East – can compete with Haifa when it comes to cultural diversity and coexistence. On this tour, India expert, licensed tour guide, and Anthropologist Dr. Eyal Dujovny will reveal the hidden stories of Haifa’s past. 

Our tour will begin with an overview of Haifa Bay from Louis Promenade. Here we will briefly discuss Haifa’s historical periods, why the British saw it as a vital stepping stone to India, and how it developed into Israel’s third largest city. From here we will take a short walk to Rosen Park, the site of a World War I battle fought between Turkish and Indian soldiers for control of this strategic location. We continue down to the Baha’I Garden overlook to learn about the Baha’I faith and its deep connections both to the Indian subcontinent and Haifa.

From here, we will drive to the Ahmadiyya mosque where we will meet with members of this Islamic community. The Ahmadiyya tradition originated in Qadian, India in the 19th century and considers Mirza Ghulam Ahmad to be the promised Messiah (Mahdi) and reformer prophesied by Muhammad, the founder of Islam. The guiding motto of the Ahmadiyya movement is “Love for all, hatred for none.”

After our visit, we continue down to the foot of the Carmel Mountain and drive through the German Colony on our way to the British War Cemetery. Founded by a group of pietist Protestants from Germany in 1868, the German Colony survived until the outbreak of World War II in 1939, when its members were forcibly shipped off to Australia.

Lastly, we will visit the Indian section of the British War Cemetery which is dedicated to the memory of the hundreds of Indian soldiers who fought to liberate Israel and Haifa from over 400 years of Ottoman rule. Here we will conclude with the story of Major Thakur Dalpat Singh, known in the Indian Armed Forces as the “Hero of Haifa” for his bravery in the 1918 Battle of Haifa.

Optional: This tour is available as a full-day tour at additional cost that includes a traditional meal as well visits to Stella Maris Church and Elijah’s Cave.