Last weekend we had a trip to a series of varied, but interesting, locations. I found myself unable to walk the distances necessary at some of the sites, but that did not mean my trip was any less enjoyable.

 First stop was right here in Akko, at the Bahá’í Shrine. If anyone is at all familiar with  Bahá’í locations, it is probably with the shrine in Haifa dedicated to the Báb, founder of the Bábí faith and forerunner of the Bahá’í faith. The Bahá’í faith, begun by the Bahá’u’lláh, a follower of the Báb, in Persia during the 1800s, is a world religion based on universal acceptance of all religions as valid and a belief that all religions believe in the same divinity.   Bahá’u’lláh, unlike the Báb who was executed in Persia, was simply exiled to the Ottoman Empire.  He settled in Akko, which was part of the Ottoman Empire at the time.  He was also arrested and imprisoned for more than 15 years in the Akko prison and spent the rest of his life under house arrest here, all because he proposed a new religion.  So Akko is the holiest place in the world for a member of the Bahá’í faith and there are many Bahá’í followers in Akko.  Continue reading Parallel Universes →