Middle East - Anthony Ham [239]
His most notable successor was Mizra Hussein Ali, who proclaimed himself the messianic figure of whom Ali-Muhammed had spoken, and who was equally unpopular throughout the region. Exiled to Baghdad, Constantinople and Adrianople, he ended his days in Akko, but before his death laid out the principles of the Baha’i faith, whose name stems from the Arabic word baha, meaning glory.
Today, there are between 5 and 6 million Baha’i worldwide, who all adhere to the faith’s central tenets of equality and unity, and who become Baha’i by choice after the age of 15. Haifa is of key importance to Baha’i across the world: each member must perform a pilgrimage here at least once in their life, walking the 1400 leg-acheing steps up the Baha’i Gardens. For more information, go to www.bahai.org.
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Information
The Bank Leumi and Hapoalim Bank main branches are both on Jaffa Rd, and you’ll find lots ATMs along most city streets; there are plenty of exchange places around Hadar. Post offices on HaPalyam and Ben-Gurion Ave will change travellers cheques.
Haifa Tourism Development Association ( 853 5605, toll free 1-800-305090; www.tour-haifa.co.il; 48 Ben-Gurion Ave) Immediately at the foot of the Baha’i Gardens, this tourist office distributes several useful maps and publications.
ISSTA ( 868 2227; www.issta.co.il; Bei Hakranot Bldg, 20 Herzl St) Books air tickets and sells student ID cards.
Main post office (19 HaPalyam Ave; 8am-12.30pm & 3.30-6pm Sun-Tue & Thu, 8am-1pm Wed, 8am-noon Fri)
Rambam Medical Centre ( 1-700-505-150; Bat Galim) A large, state-of-the-art hospital, 1km north of Haifa’s port area.
Steimatzky Bookshop ( 866 4058; 16 Herzl St; 10am-7pm Sun-Thu, 10am-3pm Fri)
Sights
BAHA’I GARDENS
The stunning, immaculately kept multiple terraces of the dizzily sloped Baha’i Gardens ( /fax 831 3131; www.terraces.bahai.org; admission free; 9am-5pm) are themselves alone a reason to visit Haifa. Apart from the top two tiers, the gardens are accessible to the general public only on hour-long guided tours (daily, except Wednesday), which must be prebooked well in advance by phone or fax. Baha’i pilgrims, however, can organise individual entry.
Amid the perfectly manicured gardens, fountains and walkways rises Haifa’s most imposing landmark, the golden-domed Shrine of the Bab ( 9am-noon). Completed in 1953, this tomb of the Baha’i prophet, Al-Bab, integrates both European and oriental design, and is considered one of the two most sacred sites for the world’s five million Baha’is (the other is the tomb of Mizra Hussein Ali; Click here). Visitors to the shrine must remove their shoes and dress modestly (no shorts or bare shoulders).
Near the upper entrance to the Baha’i Gardens you will find the Ursula Malbin Sculpture Garden (www.malbinsculpture.com; Gan HaPesalim; HaZiyonut Blvd), a small park filled with ‘hands-on’ sculptures, where families come to relax amid the greenery.
STELLA MARIS MONASTERY & ELIJAH’S CAVE
The neo-Gothic Stella Maris Carmelite Church & Monastery ( 833 7748; 6am-noon & 3-6pm), with its wonderful painted ceiling, was originally established as a 12th-century Crusader stronghold. The monastery was later used as a hospital for the troops of Napoleon in 1799, but was subsequently destroyed by the Turks. In 1836 it was replaced by the present structure. The easiest access to Stella Maris is via the cable car ( 833 5970; one way/return 16/22NIS; 10am-6pm) from the highway below.
Below Stella Maris, close to the highway, is the grotto called Elijah’s Cave (admission free; 8am-5pm Sun-Thu, 8.30am-12.45pm Fri),considered holy by Christians, Jews and Muslims alike. Here the prophet Elijah hid from King Ahab and Queen Jezebel after slaying the 450 priests of Ba’al (Kings 1:17-19). The adjacent garden is a favoured picnic site for local Christian Arabs. Take bus 44 or 45 from downtown.
GAN HA’EM (MOTHER’S PARK)
Rest weary calf muscles after climbing Haifa’s steep streets at this attractive green park ( 837 2390; adult/child 30/15NIS; 8am-5pm Sun-Thu, 9am-4pm Fri)on the crest of Carmel