Israel is a small country, smaller than the state of New Jersey and roughly half the size of the Netherlands. Due to its long and narrow shape, however, the distances from one place to another can be surprisingly long.
There is, for example, room enough in Israel for a 1-hour domestic flight from Tel Aviv to the Red Sea resort of Eilat at the country’s southern tip. They don’t do that in New Jersey, I believe (nor in the Netherlands).
Most Israelis, however, live in a fairly small area in the north of the country: somewhere inside the triangle of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa.
Tel Aviv in particular makes it easy for the visitor to reach the country’s other main cities which are only a short rail journey away.
In other words: if you are based in Tel Aviv during your Israel holiday, you have no excuse for missing the world’s most beautiful garden …
… or what is, at the very least, a serious contender.
Baha’i Terraces of Haifa: The Most Beautiful Garden in the World
The main entrance to the gardens is located downtown at the foot of Mount Carmel, just a 10-minute walk from Haifa train station, …
The Baha’i Terraces of Haifa were commissioned by the governing body of the Baha’i Faith, which resides in Haifa, and have been overlooking the town centre of Haifa since 2001. (The Baha’i Faith is something like an Esperanto of world religions with 7 million followers all over the world. Haifa and the neighbouring town of Akko house the Faith’s two holiest shrines.)
… but, on most days, it closes at noon. After that, everything that you can see upwards from here is exclusively reserved for Baha’i pilgrims.
In the brochures, they make a big song and dance about the gardens being free of charge, open to everybody and all that, but they must have forgotten to mention this tiny little detail.
Fortunately, however, there is another, smaller section of the garden which is also open in the afternoons. The entrance to this section of the Baha’i Terraces of Haifa is higher up the mountain, just behind the Temple.
A public bus service will take you there (line no. 23, half-hourly intervals), but if you do not want to wait for a bus that may or not come on time or at all (Israel, in all due respect, is not Switzerland), there is a stairway, too.
It is actually less arduous than it may look.
The gardens, at any rate, are certainly worth the effort.
Whether they are the most beautiful in the world is obviously a matter of taste and opinion, but they are certainly the most painterly I have ever seen: it would be difficult to lay out a garden with more vivid dashes of colour.
You will get some splendid views from here as well …
… although the platforms that offer unrestricted panoramas across the town and the Mediterranean Ocean are located in the “forbidden zone”.
As is the Bahai Temple itself: this will be as close as you can get.
This “temple” is in fact the mausoleum of a man known as the Bab, a kind of John the Baptist figure within the Baha’i Faith. Together with the former residence and shrine of the religion’s actual founder in near-by Akko, the Bab Shrine and its surrounding gardens constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
They are also one of Israel’s, never mind Haifa’s, main tourist attractions. Roughly 1 million people come here every year, out of which only about 10,000 are Baha’i pilgrims.
The gardens were conceived and planned by members of the Baha’i Faith and are not just something pretty to look at: they are full of religious symbolism. The 18 terraces of the garden, for example, represent the first 18 disciples of the Bab, while the 19th terrace on top is dedicated to the Bab himself.
This spiritual dimension may explain why access to the general public appears to be provided so grudgingly. In the early morning hours before we arrived, a light rain had scattered a few drops on the footpaths, following which the entire garden was closed for half a day to “protect the visitors from the risks of slippery surfaces” as we were told.
So here is our advice: if you visit Haifa to see the Baha’i Terraces, have a Plan B ready in case you need to cut your visit short or abandon it altogether.
Fortunately, there are other things to do in Haifa. The city, busy and industrious, may come across as a bit scruffy …
… but is full of ancient history.
Haifa was established roughly 3000 years ago and thrived throughout antiquity, but – following the devastations of the crusades and their aftermath – had become almost a ghost town by the end of the 16th century.
Its fortunes turned around yet again in the early 19th century, when Protestant fundamentalists from Germany established a settlement here, the so-called “German Colony”. They failed to accelerate the second coming of Christ – that had been their plan and their chosen mission – but they brought modern technology and a spirit of entrepreneurship into this neglected corner of the Ottoman Empire.
A few houses from this Colony are still lining today’s Ben Gurion Boulevard.
Have a look around and search for traces of these early European settlers – there is the odd German inscription over house entrances, and the local Tourist Office is also accommodated in a building that was inhabited by German colonists.
Then take a bus up to the Stella Maris Monastery, which was first established under the Crusader kings in the 12th century. (The current buildings are from 1836.)
Enjoy the panorama you get from the viewing platform …
… and then take the cable car service for a walk down Haifa’s beach promenade.
A great way to round off your visit!
So you see: there is a lot to do in Haifa – and it is all within the easy reach of a one-hour train ride from Tel Aviv. Don’t miss it on your visit to Israel!
Have you experienced the Baha’i Terraces of Haifa in Israel?
Next week, we will finish our series of posts about Israel with an even more unmissable experience. Any guess what that might be?
