As I write this post,
Steven and I are in our dorm room at the Abraham Hostel in Jerusalem about 7ish
on Friday night, i.e. the holiest night for Jews, listening to a an ever
increasing crowd of male Orthodox Jews dancing and singing Israeli songs at the
top of their lungs right outside our window. They're attracting a crowd of onlookers who are now clapping They started at sundown and show no signs of stopping anytime soon which is fine by me. I just LOVE these trips! Annie on
10/24
In my last post, I mentioned that this one would be devoted exclusively to Haifa's showpiece, its Baha'i Gardens which we vistited on the 20th. They're located on Mt Carmel, a holy site for Jews, Christians,
Muslims and of course the Baha'i, the world’s youngest religion. We had an
Israeli Jewish guide for the 45 minute tour; when I asked him why there wasn’t
a Baha'i guide, he said that their religion forbade any proselytizing and that
conducting tours would be considered a form of that. The city of Akko, which we saw just across the Mediterranean from Haifa, is the holiest site for Baha'i followers and the Baha'i Gardens and the Shrine are also considered holy sites.
Our guide explained that there are 5-6 million Baha'i's in 200 countries and that the Gardens were completed in 2001 at a cost of $250 million dollars and cost from $2-3 million in annual upkeep.The most striking feature of
the gardens that form the centerpiece of Haifa is the Shrine of the Bab whose brilliantly gilded
dome dominates and illuminates the city’s skyline. The building, made of
Italian stone and rising to a height of 128 feet, glistens with 12,000 gilded
tiles imported from the Netherlands. Non Baha’i’s are not allowed to enter the shrine
which is the mausoleum for the Bab, the founder, who was martyred by Persian
authorities. Haifa is the world center for the Baha’i faith which was
founded in the 19th C. in Iran and holds as its central belief the unity of mankind.
Until our guide explained, I never knew that every Baha'i has to make a pilgrimage once during his or her lifetime to the religious sights in the city of Akko and the Shrine at the Baha'i Gardens in Haifa. The pilgrimage consists of walking up the 1040 steps to the top to gain ‘spiritual elevation,’ stopping en route to get in the proper frame of mind through prayer and meditation. Once at the top, our guide explained, the Baha'i's then turn around and descend to the bottom to complete that part of the pilgrimage.
That’s the city of Akko across the Mediterranean from Haifa.
The gardens, one of Israel’s 11 UNESCO World Heritage sites, are comprised of 19 stunningly landscaped circular terraces that extend for ½ mile down the hillside. The terraces are a harmony of color and form with pale pink and gray stone flights of stairs and carved urns overflowing with red geraniums which are a perfect contrast to the emerald green grass and floral borders.
When you walk down the incredibly steep terraces, you can’t help but think how the grass ever gets mowed. So I asked the guide who explained it takes 3 people working in tandem to mow the terraces: 1 person mowing, 1 person holding a rope to the lawnmower and the last person holding a rope to the person mowing!
The Baha’i World Justice
Center; there are no priests or the equivalent in the Baha’i religion, our
guide stated, but there are 9 parliamentarians who are elected for a 5 year
term who make the political and religious decisions for the Baha’i’s.
There are no religious
symbols in the Baha’i faith, our guide told us; the sculptures are purely ornamental.
The tour ended with a lovely
view of the Shrine which was still only in the middle of the terraces but
everyone had to exit the Gardens at this point. I loved seeing the fantastic
cactus garden at the end of the tour; it brought back memories of our visiting
the Sonora Desert Museum outside of Tucson,
Arizona, the only other place I’ve seen so many other varieties
of cacti. If you ever forgot so much of Israel was a desert, the garden reminded you of that fact
right away.
I dedicate this post to Bob
and Marti in our hometown of Littleton, Colorado who inspired us to visit Haifa. I hope I have done your your faith and beloved Baha’i Gardens justice in my descriptions and photos. Please feel free, Marti, to
post any corrections as you see fit. Annie
Beautiful, Annie. Chicago's Baha'i shrine is amazing too though not as elaborate as this one for sure but I loved it.
ReplyDeletebtw Annie, you're a Carter and are supposed to have a lot of wrinkles. What's wrong with you? :)
WOW. Polish girl
ReplyDeleteAnnie and Steven, the photographs are so beautiful, and you show aspects of the gardens I hadn't seen before: thank you!!
ReplyDeleteAbout the pilgrimage and 1040 steps up, I am not aware of that being a "requirement". I know that the "avenue of the kings", which is the bottom nine terraces, is so named because Baha'is who are kings or the equivalent in power, are given the honor of approaching the Shrine of the Bab by climbing up those stairways. It is befitting, and would be the preferred way to approach for a humble-hearted sovereign. That is because he or she, who is so accustomed to every one bowing to them and waiting on them and showing them deference, would be abdicating all that and humbling themselves as they approach the Shrine to pray.
When Bob and I went on pilgrimage, the Shrine was there, and the brown pilgrims' house, but the rest of the land above and below was wild and natural---it served as an informal nature preserve in the city of Haifa. I haven't been told, nor have I read anything about a requirement to walk up and down the 19, total, terrances. For many people, that would be impossible, or would, at the very least, make many very sore muscled. Each step is fairly tall or high, making it more challenging than running up and down the flights of stairs I've taken in the USA. Marti and Bob
Dear Annie, the building you show as the Seat of the Universal House of Justice is actually the International Archives Building. The Archives houses personal items of the three central persons of the Baha'i Faith: the Bab (The Gate), Baha'u'llah (The Glory of God), and Abdu'l Baha (the Servant of the Glory). It features things like photographs, clothing and shoes, pens and actual written pages in their hand writing.
ReplyDeleteThe Universal House of Justice is located at the center of a semi-circle that is located toward the northern aspect of the terraces. The other information you have about the Universal House of Justice is correct. The House of Justice will consult on any disagreement that any one in the world might wish to present before a spiritually-guided, impartial group. Some organizations (who are not Baha'i) have done this, although I don't know any anecdotes to share, since these matters are generally confidential. For the Baha'is, the House of Justice helps us understand how the Writings apply to specific situations. Often, the Bahai reads the Writings themselves to find understanding, but some issues benefit from the wiser, more comprehensive discussion and guidance that comes from a body dedicated to such answers. The House of Justice also guides the entire Baha'i world in plans to apply the Teachings to all our personal and social undertakings, including sharing the Writings with people who are not Baha'is.
Baha'u'llah taught that there is only one God, that religions are from the one God, and that humanity is one family. These three onenesses, we believe, when recognized and acted upon, will eliminate the rancor and even worse behaviours we see in the world today. Marti and Bob