In Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions, Elijah is closely associated with Mount Carmel. The Prophet was regarded to have sometimes resided in a grotto on the mountain. In the Books of Kings (18:1-46), Elijah challenges 450 prophets of a particular Baal to a contest at the altar on Mount Carmel to determine whose deity was genuinely in control of the Kingdom of Israel. Elijah challenged the follower of Baal was to see which deity could light a sacrifice by fire. After the prophets of Baal had failed to achieve this, Elijah had water poured on his sacrifice to saturate the altar and then he prayed; fire fell and consumed the sacrifice, wood, stones, soil, and water which prompted the Israelite witnesses to proclaim, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!”. Elijah announced the end to a long drought; clouds gathered, the sky turned black, and it rained heavily.
