HAIFA

VISIT TO HAIFA - BAHAI TEMPLE, SCIENCE MUSEUM & STELLA MARIS MONASTERY

On Saturday we woke early and drove to Haifa, which is on the Meditteranean Sea, 1.5 hours north of Tel Aviv.  It's a beautiful town.  It attracts a lot of tourists, particularly to view the Baha'i Temple and Gardens that flow down the hill.

Bahai Temple and gardens in Haifa - love my new Samsung phone - takes brilliant photos.

I didn't know anything about the Baha'i faith until Haifa, although Conor has declared that if Catholicism didn't exist he'd choose to become a Baha'i follower :)  Basically, there are 5 million Baha'i followers worldwide, spread out over 236 countries.   Baha'i is a monotheistic religion, believing in the spiritual unity of all mankind. In the Baha'i faith, religious history is seen to have unfolded through a series of divine messengers (Abraham, Krishna, Zoraster, Moses, Buddha, Jesus and Muhammad) each of whom established a religion that was suited to the needs of the time and to the capacity of the people.  The latest of these messengers is the founder of the Baha'i faith, Baha'u'llah, who taught that "there is only one God, that all of the world's religions are from God, and that now is the time for humanity to recognise its oneness and unite."

The Baha'i Gardens in Haifa comprise a staircase of nineteen terraces extending all the way up the northern slope of Mount Carmel.  At its heart stands the impressive golden-domed Shrine of the Bab, which is the resting place of the Prophet-Heraldof the Baha'i faith.  The Bab, was the messenger who prepared the way for Baha'u'llah.

We were able to take the most amazing photos of these meticulously maintained gardens. It is an amazing site to visit.

View from the top of the terraced Baha'i gardens - bit windy!

View of Haifa from the top of the terraced gardens

Brigid in front of the golden-domed Baha'i Shrine

There are numerous sculptures and ornaments positioned throughout the gardens

My understanding is that the 8 pointed star represents the major religions and the Baha'i faith.

The gardens are perfectly lined with an array of varying coloured stones, separated by meticulously manicured hedges about 15 cms high.  I can't imagine what it takes to maintain a garden like this.  We did meet some lovely Baha'i volunteers from all over the world in our time there, including a fellow from Samoa and another from Papua New Guinea.   

Dario in the succulents garden 

Marcus, Brigid and Dario in front of one of the many fountains.  Water runs down the sides of all the stairs in the garden, which makes for such a pleasant, calming experience.

The Baha'i's Parliament - there are no individual leaders.  They have a Council of representatives from around the world, who agree on decisions collectively.

The building in which the Baha'i archives are kept.  In fact, the archives are all kept underground so this building is mainly for show.

Gardens and design surrounding the Baha'i Shrine.

The Israel National Museum Of Science, Technology & Space

After visiting the Baha'i gardens we made our way to the Madatech - Israel's National Museum of Science in Haifa.  The kids had a ball, as did we.  We all enjoyed, and laughed our way through, the "Tubix" experience, which was designed to show the common ground between tubes in different aspects of life: water, eletricity, information, nature, industry and the human body.  It was a bit strange for us because the videos were in Hebrew, so we had to take a guess at what was being said.

I think the photos are the best way to explain this one.....was very quirky!....

Conor in front of the Kfir Jet Fighter on display

You too Dario :)  

There were lots of interactive exhibits explaining the scientific workings of various equipment. We got a laugh out of this upside down Australia.

Waiting for 100s of soft balls to land on our heaads to be fed back into tubes and carried back to their original containers...

Conor in one of the "dancing" tubes.

Brigid engulfed by the tubing

Dario learning about dental hygiene 

Decapitated Marcus - learning about magic....

Great acting Marcus & Conor - playing around with the science behind magic tricks

Conor peddling on the helicopter.

STELLA MARIS MONASTERY

On our way home, we visited the Stella Maris Monastery on the slopes of Mount Carmel.    What's amazing about Israel is that there is a sacred site every which way you turn.  This site is considered sacred to both Christians and Jews as it is believed to be the cave of the prophet Elijah, which you can see in the photo below, under the altar.

In the 12th century, during the Crusader occupation of the region, groups of religious hermits began to inhabit the caves of this area in imitation of Elijah.  Within a century, these monastic hermits were organised into the Carmelite order and the Carmelite order spread throughout Europe.

While the Carmelite Orders flourish in Europe, throughout the Middle Ages, its founders on Mount Carmel were exiled at the time of the Mamluk conquest in 1291 and did not return until the 18th century.  The current monastery and basilica were constructed in 1836.

Entrance to the Stella Maris Monastery

The interior of the Stella Maris Church where you can see, under the magnificent altar,
the cave which Elijah was said to have inhabited. 

Stunning dome ceiling of the Stella Maris (Star of the Sea) Church.  

We were all exhausted as we made our way back to Jaffa....to watch "The Light Horseman," which pays tribute to the Aussies who fought at the battle of Beersheeba.  It's the 98th anniversary of the battle on Saturday. when we will be driving through Beersheeba to get to Eilat before heading over into Jordan.  The kids weren't that excited about watching it but, boy, were they fired up about being Australian after they watched it.  It's a great tale of the courage and determination of Australian soldiers on WWI.   I have heard my father talk about that battle for so many years, yet I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't always listen too carefully - sorry Dad.  Will say a prayer for you in Beersheeba :)

Golden sunset over the Mediterranean Sea as we made our way out of Haifa.