|
|
 
Journal of the Bahá'í Community
of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
May 2001 / 158BE
|
Bahá'í World Centre
Opening the Terraces on Mount Carmel
It's dusk on 22 May 2001. Some 4,500 people, 3,300 of them
Bahá'ís, representative of more than 200 countries
and territories, are gathered at the foot of Mount Carmel in Haifa,
Israel.
They are there to witness the opening of the
Terraces of the Shrine of the Báb, a project begun ten years
ago that has transformed the ancient barren face of the mountain
into 19 majestic terraced gardens cascading down the length of the
mountain.
The Bahá'í Faith, founded in 1844,
is the most recent of the world's monotheistic religions. Its
founder, Bahá'u'lláh, spent the latter years of His
life in the Holy Land as a prisoner of the Ottoman Turks, and the
Faith's administrative and spiritual headquarters were established
in what are today the twin cities of Acre and Haifa of modern
Israel.
|
| Top: Looking up the terraces to the
Shrine of the Báb |
 |
The Bahá'ís have built world-class
gardens to adorn the golden-domed Shrine of the Báb, the
second most holy spot of their Faith. These gardens also provide
thousands of visitors with a contemplative space in which ordered
flowerbeds, fountains, and flowing water give way to natural
perimeters of trees and shrubs. They are an oasis of tranquility in
the heart of a bustling port city. Following the official opening
during the week of 22 May, the gardens will be open to the public
every day, free of charge.
 |
|
Right:Workers strive to finish work on the
Terraces before the opening on 22nd May
|
|
Below: The Centre for the Study of the
Texts
|
|
To mark the opening of the Terraces, an oratorio
and a symphony have been composed, respectively, by Norwegian
composer Lasse Thoresen and Tajik composer Tolib Shahidi. The
Israel Northern Symphony, Haifa, under the direction of Stanley
Sperber, will accompany acclaimed instrumental and vocal soloists
from Canada, Austria, and the United States, backed by the
Transylvania State Choir from Cluj, Romania. The original
orchestral works will climax with the spectacular inaugural
lighting of the Terraces, building light upon light like strings of
pearls draped around the illumined Shrine.
The evening's events will be available to
television stations around the world via a satellite feed.
Taken from the Press Pack prepared by the World
Centre at http://www.bahaiworldnews.org
These pictures are copyrighted and have been
reprinted with the permission of Enlighten. To view more pictures
of the Mount Carmel Bahá'í Projects, please visit http://www.enlighten.ca. |
Copyright, © 2001, National Spiritual Assembly of the
Bahá'ís of the United Kingdom. All rights reserved.
 
|
|
