Haifa

 

 

I had mistakenly thought that Ilana lived near Haifa and learned that the Bahá’í World Centre is there.  Ilana agreed to take me there by train on her morning off and it was then that I started to see the countryside, the agriculture, and the nature of towns. We took the train from Herzliya, named after Theodor Herzl, considered the father of modern Zionism and the State of Israel.  There is a giant statue of him above the water tower which could be seen from the train station.

 

As with any form of public transportation, there was the ubiquitous presence of young soldiers in uniform. Israel is a very tiny country and it does not seem to take too long to get anywhere.On arriving in Haifa, we set out to find Carmelit, the location of the cable car which would take us to the top of the city enabling us to walk down the stunning Bahá’í gardens along with a beautiful view of the port city.

 

      

 

 

Having renounced organized religion of any denomination, in favor of a direct relationship with God, I nevertheless found myself attracted to the principles, the lightness, and the diversity of  Bahá’í , along with its commitment to peace.It is sadly ironic that the  followers of Bahá’í were expelled from Iran, where it was founded, so they built its World Center in Israel.  Subsequently members of the faith were executed in Iran, accused of being Israeli spies. 

 

 

 

Alas, the only guided tour was at midday, on a very hot day and required quite a bit of walking. It turned out to be a big sacrifice for my cousin who was wilted by the end of it all and still had classes to teach that night.