Lomography

Haba'i Gardens (Haifa)
written by dudizm on May 9th, 2008 , 2 comments (0 votes)

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Extending from the summit of Mount Carmel, this unique hillside garden will spread out along the northwestern slope of the mountain. In total there will be 19 terraces and more than 1,500 steps as the garden sweeps down towards Haifa port. The garden, particularly the upper terraces, offer a stirring view of the blue bay below.

The highest of the 19 terraces has been completed and was opened to the public in September 1998. The rest of the project is expected to be opened within two years. The centerpiece of the hillside garden, midway down on terrace number ten, is the gold-domed Shrine of the Bab. Completed in 1953, the building contains the tomb of Siyyad Ali Muhammed – the Bab – a Muslim in Persia who proclaimed the coming of a “Promised One” in 1844. He was executed for heresy in 1850, and his disciples brought his remains to Haifa in 1909.

The beautiful gardens were originally planned by Shoghi Effendi, the late Guardian of the Faith, and they have recently undergone a massive redesign aimed at putting them on the world’s horticultural map. The Baha’i gardens are now a geometric cascade of hanging gardens and terraces down to Ben Gurion Boulevard – a gift of visual pleasure to the city that gave the Baha’i religion its home and headquarters. This location is wonderful and powerful, you can’t miss that garden if you visit Haifa.

Bus to go there: 22 from the port, 23, 25, and 26 from Hadar
Website : http://terraces.bahai.org/
Free entrance gardens daily 9am-5pm
Modest dress required, shoulders must be covered