The international headquarters of the Baha'i faith is here. The Baha'i faith was founded in Persia in the 19th century. A core principle of the faith is that all religions are united and their prophets (divine messengers) are part of the same big, universal, spiritual scene. The most recent of these heavenly teachers according to the Baha'i faith was Baha'u'llah, the Baha'i religious founder, whose arrival in the 19th century was heralded by the Bab, the forerunner of the Baha'i faith. Baha'u'llah was exiled by the Turkish authorities to Akko, where he wrote his doctrines and died. The Bab's remains were entombed in the Baha'i Shrine in these Gardens.

We were unable to enter the Baha'i Shrine in the Gardens because it was under construction.

Haifa - beautiful city and partly on Mt. Carmel giving it a San Francisco feel. Ethnically diverse population with Jews and significant numbers of Arab Christians Muslims. Israel痴 largest port is here surrounded by heavy industry, such as oil refineries, glass textile manufacturing and other factories. Important events in the area date to biblical times, such as the prophet Elijah痴 challenge to Baal on Mt. Carmel. The city was occupied by Greeks, Crusaders and Arabs. Napoleon made a stop here on his way to defeat at Akko.