Category — Israel

As reported yesterday, UNESCO have inscribed a number of Bahá’í Holy Places in Israel on the World Heritage Site list.

UNESCO’s website has reported this:

The Bahá’i Holy Places in Haifa and Western Galilee (Israel) are inscribed for the testimony they provide to the Bahá’i’s strong tradition of pilgrimage and for their profound meaning for the faith. The property numbers 26 buildings, monuments and sites at 11 locations in Acre and Haifa, associated with the founders of the faith, among them the Shrine of the Bahá’u’lláh in Acre and the Mausoleum of the Báb in Haifa. It also includes houses, gardens, a cemetery and a large group of modern buildings in the neoclassical style that serve for administration, archives and a research centre.

A number of news outlets have reported this significant development, among them:

AFP

Xinhua

Mideast Daily News

Ynet News

Africasia.com

But one outlet, Tehran Times, is notably and shamefully silent on the matter, despite reporting the listing of several sites in Iran.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, UNESCO, World Heritage Site, Israel, Haifa, Western Galilee, holy places, shrine

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The Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has today added two Bahá’í shrines to the list of World Heritage sites. The resting places of the twin Founders of the Bahá’í Faith - the Báb and Bahá’u'lláh - are the first sites connected with a modern religious tradition to be added to this prestigious list. They join famous World Heritage sites like the Great Wall of China, the Pyramids, the Taj Mahal, the Vatican, and Stonehenge.

Dr Albert Lincoln, secretary-general of the Bahá’í International Community, expressed the community’s pleasure at the decision:

We welcome the UNESCO recognition, which highlights the importance of the holy places of a religion that in 150 years has gone from a small group found only in the Middle East to a worldwide community with followers in virtually every country.

The Bahá’í community is particularly grateful to the government of Israel for putting forward this nomination.

You can read more about this in the story on the Baha’i World News Service. And it’s well worth reading this longer, more reflective piece, “People can sense the presence of God”, about the significance of these shrines and the whole Bahá’í World Centre.

Bahá’ís long to have the opportunity to visit or, even better, to make their pilgrimage to these stunning buildings and gardens. I have been fortunate to be able to visit regularly and I am awed by them every time I go.

Significance of this UNESCO inscription

This is an exciting development, one that I know has been under consideration for quite some time. As fellow Baha’i blogger Marco Oliveira has pointed out:

I believe it is important to that this inscription is VERY significant. Iran is a signatory of the UNESCO world heritage list, next time they destroy a Baha’i holy place in Iran we can put more pressure on them as with the Shrines being inscribed its a recognition that the Baha’i Faith’s figures and history are of “outstanding universal value” and of importance to humanity.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Baha’i World Centre, Bab, Baha’u'llah, UNESCO, World Heritage Site, Israel

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Brian Kurzius has sent me the link to his photos of the light display behind the Shrine of the Báb on Mt Carmel to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel. They are great photos, taken from Brian and Christine’s apartment in Haifa.

And Brian has put an animation of the light show on his blog. Well worth a look.

Many thanks, Brian.

Technorati Tags: Mt Carmel, Haifa, Israel, light show, Baha’i, Bahai, Bab, shrine

It’s not every day that one can see the Shrine of the Báb like this. These blue lights sweeping over Mount Carmel were there to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the State of Israel.

According to this story on Arlington Baha’i, normal lighting of the Shrine was reduced for the occasion.

I’m afraid I don’t have a photo credit for the picture.

(Hat tip: David Henderson.)

Big changes in Israel

Erica and I first visited Israel in 1970 for our first Bahá’í pilgrimage. At that time the State of Israel was but 22 years old. The 1968 war was still fresh in people’s memories. The whole place was still relatively undeveloped. But there was a tremendous energy in the country. Now, 38 years later, much has changed, but it is still a special experience to visit this land that is holy to Jews, Christians, Muslims and Bahá’ís.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Shrine, Bab, Israel, Mt Carmel, Haifa

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