Views of Akka
I’ve created a new website to share a rare book of historic Bahá’í photographs dating from approximately 1898. Images of the interior of the most holy tomb, the Garden of Ridván, the Most Great Prison, early Bahji, Akka, Haifa, and others are included. Scholarly commentary for each photograph and a general overview were written by Prof. Duane Troxel. References are included for further study. The scans are very high quality and are also downloadable in PDF format.
The 42 hand-tinted photographs that make up the core of this publication were scanned from an early Bahá’í publication whose title page states: Views of Acca, Haifa, Mt. Carmel, and Other Places, published by the Bahá’í Publishing Society, Chicago, U.S.A. The book has been mentioned in The Baha’i World and Star of the West. One of the things which makes this book so extraordinary, besides its age, historical importance, and the coloring of the pictures is that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá approved the images Himself. The title page declares: “These photographs were duly authorized by ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ and are placed in this form for the benefit of those who long to see the dwelling place of the most high.”
The image above is a composite of the original title page and a hand colored photograph of Mt. Carmel in Haifa as it appeared at the beginning of the 20th century. Of course, now it’s a bustling cosmopolitan city. Many travel posters prominently feature its most noticeable landmark, the Bahá’í gardens and the world administrative center located within them.
This website would not have been possible without the help of the book’s owner, Erica Toussaint, who made the patient and helpful suggestions that enhanced its usability. The high quality scans were done by Bill Dvorak. I treated the scans as Camera Raw images in Photoshop and applied recovery, noise reduction, clarity, and vibrance filters to enhance their presentation. The website is located at http://www.viewsofakka.com/.
Mt. Carmel today.
Mt. Carmel during the time of Bahá’u'lláh.
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Sacred Gardens
Some of Bahá’u'lláh’s most beautiful and ecstatic writings are His luminous descriptions of gardens. Bahá’u'lláh declared his divine mission in a garden in Baghdad in 1863. He frequented the beautiful Garden of Ridván near Akká and wrote tablets describing wondrous visions he beheld in that garden. (See The Movement of Trees for a description and a painting of the Garden of Ridván.) Best known are the beautiful world famous Bahá’i gardens on the slopes of Mt. Carmel in Haifa.
(C) Copyright Cary Enoch Reinstein
From the garden of whose soul will the blossoms of the invisible realities spring forth?
Bahá’u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 60
A divine Mine only can yield the gems of divine knowledge, and the fragrance of the mystic Flower can be inhaled only in the ideal Garden, and the lilies of ancient wisdom can blossom nowhere except in the city of a stainless heart.
Bahá’u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 191
Shouldst thou, by the leave of God, enter this sublime and exalted garden, thou wouldst find its sun in its noontide glory, never to set, never to be eclipsed.
Bahá’u'lláh, Gems of Divine Mysteries, p. 71
Consider how all created things eloquently testify to the revelation of that inner Light within them. Behold how within all things the portals of the Ridván of God are opened, that seekers may attain the cities of understanding and wisdom, and enter the gardens of knowledge and power. Within every garden they will behold the mystic bride of inner meaning enshrined within the chambers of utterance in the utmost grace and fullest adornment.
Bahá’u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 139)
After this heavenly journey and mystical ascent the wayfarer will enter within the Garden of Wonderment.
Bahá’u'lláh, Gems of Divine Mysteries, p. 67
O Thou the Compassionate God. Bestow upon me a heart which, like unto glass, may be illumined with the light of Thy love, and confer upon me thoughts which may change this world into a rose garden through the outpourings of heavenly grace.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Compilations, Bahá’í Prayers, p. 70
Download a compilation from the Bahá’í Writings referring to gardens.
Technorati Tags: Sacred Spaces, Gardens, Garden of Ridvan, Akka
Tags: Baha'i, Garden of Ridván, Garden of Wonderment, Gardens, Haifa, Israel, Mt. Carmel, Religion, Sacred Text, ScriptureRelated posts
First Day of Spring, The Baha’i New Year
In the calendar of the Baha’i Faith, the new year begins on the equinox, the first day of Spring.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Naw-Rúz in the Holy Land in 1909, 100 years ago
The most joyful tidings is this,” He wrote later in a Tablet announcing to His followers the news of this glorious victory, “that the holy, the luminous body of the Báb … after having for sixty years been transferred from place to place, by reason of the ascendancy of the enemy, and from fear of the malevolent, and having known neither rest nor tranquility has, through the mercy of the Abha Beauty, been ceremoniously deposited, on the day of Naw-Ruz, within the sacred casket, in the exalted Shrine on Mt. Carmel… By a strange coincidence, on that same day of Naw-Ruz, a cablegram was received from Chicago, announcing that the believers in each of the American centers had elected a delegate and sent to that city … and definitely decided on the site and construction of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkar
Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By
Mashriqu’l-Adkar: Literally “the Dawning-place of the praise of God”,
the designation of the Bahá’í House of Worship and its dependencies.
Baha’u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas
Yesterday, about an hour after the equinox passed here, I walked to my front door for no particular reason and looked outside. A Robin alighted on my lawn and soon there were several of them. This has happened all my life. I even remember it as a child in the dull, treeless and blighted Bronx. I’ve always seen a Robin on the first day of Spring. Sometimes that’s the only day that I see one. You might scarcely notice a little Robin amongst a flock of other birds but to me this pretty little bird has always been a harbinger. I feel they are something wonderful.
“The Robin is considered a symbol of Spring. A well-known example is a poem by Emily Dickinson, “I Dreaded That First Robin So”. Among other 19th-century poems about the first robin of spring is “The First Robin” by Dr. William H. Drummond, which according to the author’s wife is based on a Quebec superstition that whoever sees the first robin of spring will have good luck.” (wikipedia)
Hey Little Bird, I Remember You
Tags: Baha'i, Chicago, Emily Dickinson, faith, Mt. Carmel, Naw-Ruz, New Year's Day, Religion, spirituality
