It is a pageant of beauty...
Bahá'u'lláh had been sent to the prison of 'Akká because
it was believed by the religious leaders of Persia and Turkey that
He would die there and be forgotten. The atmosphere was so foul
that proverb said of the spot: "If a bird flies over 'Akká, it
dies!" His enemies did not realize that by driving Him there in
exile, they were fulfilling the prophecies of sacred Scripture.
Soon the followers of Bahá'u'lláh came to this arid, desert land
from far off places. They brought with them roses of every hue,
flowers, plants, and fruit trees. It became a garden as the years
passed, filled with colorful blossoms, the fragrance of orange and
lemon trees, with the brilliance of the flaming pomegranate. even
as Isaiah had visualized:
"It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God."
Thousands of visitors from all over the world now visit the magnificent Bahá'í gardens on the side of Mount Carmel and on the plain of 'Akká.
Wherever the feet of Bahá'u'lláh walked, there are now lovely
gardens and paths. Roses of every hue and description can be seen.
White and red stone paths wind through beds of many-colored flowers
of all shapes and shades.
The rocky desolate side of Mount Carmel and the desert sand of 'Akká have been transformed into green lanes shaded by dark cedars of Lebanon, fir trees, pine trees, box trees, towering mulberry trees, and fruit trees of all varieties; it is a pageant of beauty.
The words of Isaiah echo like a chorus through the mountainside:
1. "The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them;
and the desert shall blossom as the rose."
2. "The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious."
These beautiful gardens and holy places which were raised up by the pen of Bahá'u'lláh lie on the north side of Mount Carmel, looking across the Bay of Haifa toward the white sands of 'Akká. Here on the north side of the
mountain is being built all the future institutions of the Bahá'í
Faith at its world center.
This is the day and the place which David promised in his Psalms when he spoke of the mountain of God:
"... on the sides of the north, the city of the great King."
Ezekiel echoes the same promise given by Isaiah, Hosea, Micah,
Daniel, Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Zechariah, and Malachi:
"And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like the noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory. ... And the glory of the Lord came unto the house
by way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east."
Bahá'u'lláh, Whose names means the Glory of the Lord, or the Glory
of God, came to Israel from His homeland, Persia, which lies
directly east of the Holy Land. His Herald, the Báb, foretold His
coming and prepared the way for Him. Báb is a word which means the
Gate. When Ezekiel had this vision of the last days, he said:
"I saw it were the appearance of fire. ... This was the appearance of
the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell
upon my face. ..."
~~~ William Sears, Release the Sun, p. 226
