An Interesting Field Trip

So every Tuesday we go on siyur (field trip). Usually our siyurim are in Tel Aviv and involve a lot of walking around places we already know, but on occasion we leave the city and venture to some other place in the country. This past Tuesday, our siyur was announced as a trip to Haifa. Haifa, historically, is a very interesting city and has lots to offer. I, at least, was really excited.

Then Tuesday rolled around and SURPRISE- trip to Haifa actually meant three hour hike around the other side of Mt. Carmel. No one had even mentioned a hike to us, and then we got yelled at because we were all completely unprepared. Classic. Anyway, the hike (although I was wearing a skirt and shoes with no traction) ended up being beautiful, and I was thoroughly entertained when we were stopped on the trail by a random herd of goats.

Eventually we finished our trek through the wilderness and actually did drive into Haifa. We were all standing around a park at the top of the mountain waiting for someone to tell us what was next, when SURPRISE- I ran into a good friend of mine from my program last summer. She lives in Ra'anana (just outside of Tel Aviv), but is beginning her national service this year and is in training to become a tour guide. I hadn't seen her since December... it was so weird to just run into her on the street!

Anyway, after an hour or so one of our madrichim finally herded us a little ways down the mountain to begin our tour, which was not of the city of Haifa, but, SURPRISE- a guided tour of the Baha'i Gardens! I had seen the gardens from the top and from the bottom, but I always wanted to walk through them! It was AWESOME. A little bit of background about the Baha'i Faith: it's one of the youngest major religions in the world, established in 1844 in Iran. Their two major prophets are the Bab and Baha'u'llah; the Bab's tomb is located in the gardens in Haifa, while Baha'u'llah died and was buried near Akko. The Baha'i Faith centers around three major things: unity, justice, and peace. They believe in one God, and one united mankind. Basically, they're the world's earliest and most organized hippies. Ironic that they originated in Iran. Anyway, Baha'is are encouraged to live sprinkled around the world to spread their message of justice and peace, and they are not permitted to live in Haifa. Baha'is come to Haifa for a few months at a time to volunteer at the gardens and the temple, but then they return to whichever country they came from. About 100 gardeners work in the gardens, about 30% of them actual Baha'i volunteers. Construction of the gardens began in 1987, and did not end until 2001, and the gardens were built on a total budget of $3 million, with a lot of volunteers. Impressive.

The gardens are made up of nine concentric circles supporting eighteen terraces. 700 steps lead down to the Shrine of the Bab at the bottom, and we walked down every single one of them. My knees were killing me, but I couldn't stop taking pictures of the beautiful fountains and perfectly trimmed hedges. I'll post some of the pictures as soon as I get a chance.

Shabbat Shalom!