Cities · History · Journal · Palestinian culture ·Nov 10, 2026

Haifa's Palestinian History: Port, Neighborhoods and Novels

Haifa is built in layers, from the harbor at sea level up the green slopes of Mount Carmel. Its story is also layered, and the Palestinian chapter is one many visitors never hear.

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Railway and harbor

At the start of the 20th century, Haifa was a modest town. In 1905 a branch of the Hejaz Railway connected it to Damascus, and in the 1930s a modern deep-water port was built. Jobs and trade drew people from all over the region, and Haifa became one of the major Palestinian Arab cities.

What changed in 1948

In 1948 most of Haifa's Palestinian Arab population left or was driven from the city, and most could not come back. Palestinian citizens still live in Haifa today as a minority, many of them in historic neighborhoods like Wadi Nisnas.

Wadi Nisnas

With its stone houses, narrow streets, bakeries and produce stalls, Wadi Nisnas is the city's best-known Arab neighborhood. Every December, the Holiday of Holidays festival fills it with music, food and street art marking the holidays of different faiths.

Haifa in literature

Two famous books bring Haifa to life. Emile Habibi, who lived in the city, wrote The Secret Life of Saeed the Pessoptimist (1974), a darkly funny novel about a Palestinian who stays. Ghassan Kanafani's Returning to Haifa (1969) tells of a couple who visit their former home two decades later.

Mount Carmel

Above the city, the Bahá'í Gardens step down Mount Carmel in 19 terraces and have been part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008. Below them, the German Colony's 19th-century stone houses line a wide avenue toward the sea.

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