Monday: A Beautiful Day in Haifa

When I awoke to this view this morning

I knew that it would be the perfect day to re-tour the Baha'i Gardens.

Conveniently enough, there was a tour, in English, at noon.  Since the tour is free, as the Baha'i faith does not collect any fees according to their religion, could I really pass on this opportunity?

I think not.

This time, the group was much smaller, and the young man giving the tour was much more dynamic than my previous tour guide.

His first words were:  "You certainly picked the best day to see the gardens.  It hasn't been this clear for nearly a month."

Now, how lucky was that?

I'm fairly certain that I have not seen those mountains in the distance since we arrived.

Everything seemed so much sharper, and the water seemed so much bluer, don't you think?

So……I took a lot of photos.  But really, when would I get the chance to see such beauty to share?

As I mentioned, our guide today was so much more informative than the woman I had the other day.

We learned that from top to bottom, the 1000 steps cover 1 kilometer in length.

All of the water that runs down next to the stairs and flows in the fountains is recycled from top to bottom so that none is wasted.

Believe it or not, the terraced grass is maintained by regular lawn mowers.

But, it takes 3 men to operate the mower.  One man pushes the mower, while two other men hold onto ropes to keep the man and mower from falling down the hills.

Do you remember this building that resembles the Parthenon?

Well, there is no particular reason behind the structure, other than it is beautiful.  We learned today that there are actually 6 stories built into the ground under that building, that holds the archives for the Baha'i Faith.  The purpose behind that is to keep the gardens beautiful, and it is believed that a tall structure would detract from the beauty rather than to enhance it.

All members of the Baha'i Faith are encouraged to come to Israel and make a pilgrimage to the Baha'i Gardens.

Unlike tourists, who are only permitted to see the grounds, via tour, from top to bottom, pilgrims are expected to make their pilgrimage by walking the steps and trails from the bottom up.

That would explain the many people that I saw entering through the bottom and working their way up to the top.

The grounds on either side of the gardens have been set up as natural wildlife preserve.  The people who tend the gardens are excited to see brown areas in the gardens, because that apparently indicates that the wild boars are returning to the area.

I couldn't help but wonder about those sheep that I saw walking along the cliff, not far from the gardens.  I guarantee you that they were NOT wild boar.

But, now I'm wondering if they were dinner.  Are wild boars vegetarian?  Let's hope so!

I so thoroughly enjoyed today's tour so much better than the other day.  I decided to head to the Visitor Center in the German Colony to see if I could find a map of the 1000 step routes that I had read about online.  I knew from my ventures back up the hill that there were steps interspersed here and there, but it was only by chance that I was able to locate them.

On my way to the center, I spotted a set of stairs and descended them to get closer to the road on my way to the German Colony.  As I rounded the bend, two women approached me and asked me if I knew whether or not those steps would lead to the road that took them to the Baha'i Gardens.

I asked them if they were pilgrims of the faith, and they said yes.  Now, what were the chances of that happening?  I had only heard of this duty while taking the tour, and here I was helping two of the pilgrims find the gate that would lead them to the start of their intended journey. They thanked me and headed up the stairs.  

I had no trouble finding the the visitor center, and for 4 shekels, I was given a map with the 1000 step routes that I had been looking for.   

The woman handed me the map saying, "These steps are recommended only for walking down…..never for walking up."  

Really?  Little did she know where my feet had taken me last week.  I was living proof that it could be done.  And I'm fairly certain that my journey was far longer than the ones drawn on the map.

After exploring the German Colony, which, in itself has quite a fascinating history, I decided to make my way to the Carmelit and attempt to actually take it to the top.

I knew to look for the building that resembled a space ship.  You can see it in the distance.

Once there, I entered the gate and walked down the stairs where an attendant greeted me.  He was a large, scruffy looking, older man.  Now, it would be obvious that the only people walking into that place would be those wishing to use it.  He asked me if he could help me, and I said that I wanted to buy a ticket to the top.

He asked me if I spoke any Hebrew, to which I said that I was sorry but I only spoke English.

Then he asked me where I was from.  I told him I was from the United States.

He wanted to know WHERE in the UNITED STATES!!

By this time, I was getting a bit nervous.  I managed to eek out, "Pennsylvania".

He pointed to me and said,  "I've been to Brooklyn!" which brought a chuckle from me.

Then he walked over to the machine to help me purchase the ticket.  I told him that I wanted to pay by credit card, and he looked a little skeptical.

I handed him my card, he swiped it, looked at the machine and said, "this is GOOD!" Then, he handed me back the card and then gave me the ticket.  I still had my credit card in my hand when he said to me, 

"PUT THAT AWAY…..you can't be too careful."  I did as he said.  Then headed off with the ticket.

He called out " Good Luck!"  At that point I had to laugh and say, "Thanks!"

I made it to the top without a problem.  The ride up was rather interesting though.  If you've ever been on  the Pittsburgh incline this would be similar, except only one car goes up and down.  The pitch is pretty much the same, but this is underground.  And, as the car travels up the track, you can see that you are only inches away from rock on either side.  Since the entire experience is underground, I wonder why they even have so many windows.  There isn't anything to look at, that's for sure!

Once to the top, I decided to head to the hotel and grab some lunch at the hotel restaurant.  The maitre'd seated me at an excellent viewpoint where I could continue to enjoy this fabulous day.

Really, it was a picture perfect day…even to the end.