Baha’i Gardens
For Marty’s 65th birthday, we traveled to Israel, a journey filled with extraordinary places that I will write about in time. But the place I want to begin with is the Baha’i Gardens in Haifa.
Our group was given special access to this sacred site, allowing us to walk the entire length of the gardens from the top terrace all the way down to the base. Moving slowly downward through the pathways felt ceremonial.
At the heart of the gardens is the Shrine of the Bab, crowned by its golden dome. This shrine is one of the holiest places in the Baha’i Faith, housing the remains of the Bab, a central figure in the religion. The gardens form part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognized for both their spiritual importance and extraordinary landscape architecture.
The Baha’i Faith is a relatively young religion, founded in the 19th century in Persia. Its teachings emphasize the unity of humanity, the harmony of science and religion, equality between men and women, and the pursuit of peace among all peoples. Walking in this special place embodies these ideals of beauty, symmetry and serenity.
The gardens themselves are breathtaking in their precision with stairways, fountains, manicured hedges and flowering beds. The gardens feel suspended in a busy bustling city, a sanctuary carved into the mountainside.
Travel means different things to different people. For me, travel is about learning how other people make meaning of the world and their place in it.
Read More From Nancy
Herod’s Promontory Palace
On our visit to Caesarea, we walked among the remains of an ancient city built along the Mediterranean Sea. The setting alone was striking, with the ruins extending toward the water and waves breaking against the exposed stone. One of the most intriguing places we encountered was the remains of a large rectangular pool surrounded […]
Abrasha Park
During our visit to Israel, Marty and I stopped at an overlook in Abrasha Park, high above the shoreline of Old Jaffa. From this peaceful spot, we could look north along the Mediterranean coast toward the modern skyline of Tel Aviv. The view brought two very different sides of Israel together: the ancient city of […]
The Citadel of Acre
The Citadel of Acre rises above the northern section of the Old City, occupying a strategic position near the landward walls. Although the visible fortress dates primarily from the Ottoman period, it was constructed upon the remains of the medieval compound once occupied by the Knights Hospitaller. The result is a structure containing several distinct […]
