On Friday, we toured Akka, the ancient crusader city. When Baha'u'llah and the
Holy Family arrived there from Adrianople, the city was renowned for its foul miasma.
It was said that a bird that flew over Akka would die from it.
They were brought ashore through the sea gate, the same place that Richard III and the
Crusaders landed. It was August and very hot. All of them, the women and
children too were locked into a courtyard and left without food or water for a day.
Later they were crowded into a few cells on the upper floor. In those days
the prison didn't feed you, or if they did, it was not fit to eat. They were hungry and
crowded and often ill there. They lived in the prison for over two years and were only
moved when the
Turks wanted to barrack soldiers there.
The prison is under renovation so we did not get to go into the cell. Instead, we stood
on the very hill and place where the pilgrims who came from Persia to visit stood and
looked for Baha'u'llah to wave to them. They were not allowed to see him and those who
worked actively against Him often rented rooms along the main streets and watched all day
for believers so they could point them out to the Turks.
After the family was released, they were given space in a Khan, a caravansari. We
went there. The place still stands and is just as you would imagine such a place,
large open space in the center of four walls. The animals were kept there. Goods were
stored in the lower rooms and people stayed upstairs. The sandstone is old and
scarred. Pillars march around the yard and we could see the top of the main mosque
there.
An Arab guy sold orange juice and candy in the middle of the open place. Funny guy, not
above yelling and urging folk to buy his goods. Several of the people on the trip
found him offensive or were at best taken aback by him.
We next went to the house where Baha'u'llah and most of the family lived for the next few
years, before finally going to Bahji. It is called the House of Abud and is really
two houses joined One half belong to Udi Kammar and official of the city.
The other belonged to Abud, don't know who he was. They lived in the Abud half
until the eldest son got married and then Udi Kammar let them have part of the other half
and eventually
they lived in all of it. The house is two very tall stories, white and
blue. It stands out among the aging limestone houses on the street. In these
places we got to see the rooms where they lived and where some of Baha'u'llah's most
important tablets and books were revealed. We were able to go into the lovely large
room all done in white with Persian carpets where He used to receive those other pilgrims
who still walked from Persia to see Him.
Like all the Baha'i places we went, it was spotlessly, loving kept. Part of me longs
to be a caretaker at such a place and serve tea to the pilgrims. It would be such a
privilege. The work is done by volunteers in the sense that people ask to come work in the
Holy Land and if the House of Justice accepts them, they are paid a living wage but not
much more. Many young people go for a year or two after high school or college.
The boys are often the security guards, although a young woman from our area was
the first woman to be a guard. The kids do all sorts of cleaning and maintenance
work. More skilled workers go for longer stretches. Some people go as
'indefinites' which means they decide when they will come home. In exchange for all
the work, you get to go to the Shrines whenever and have constant access to the gardens.
It would seem an excellent trade
to me.
