Pilgrimage to Haifa and Akká

The practice

Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, spent his last decades as a prisoner and exile in Akká, in what is now Israel, and he is buried at nearby Bahjí. His forerunner, the Báb, is buried in the golden domed Shrine on Mount Carmel in Haifa. Together the two cities are the faith's holiest ground.

How it is kept

Bahá'í pilgrimage is a nine day visit arranged through the Bahá'í World Centre. Pilgrims pray at the Shrines of the Báb and of Bahá'u'lláh, visit the house where Bahá'u'lláh died and the prison city of Akká, and walk the terraced gardens on Mount Carmel with fellow believers from every continent.

What it means

A faith born in exile made its prison city into its heart. Pilgrims come not as tourists but as guests of a world community, and the gardens above Haifa, kept by that community, now draw the admiration of the whole city around them.