wfn.org | Seeing Mount Carmel terraces for the first time, Baha'is feel as if

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they are in "paradise"

NEWS RELEASE: Seeing Mount Carmel terraces for the first time, Baha'is feel 
as if they are in "paradise"

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HAIFA, Israel, 20 May 2001 (BWNS) -- Like so many others among the some 
3,000 Baha'is arriving here today and seeing for the first time a series of 
magnificent gardened terraces on Mount Carmel, Salomeea Romanescu of 
Romania could only compare her experience to visiting "paradise on earth."

"The sound of the water is like a divine song," said the 37-year-old 
educator from Bucharest. "Combined with the smell of the flowers and the 
harmony of the colors, all these sensations, they give you a feeling of 
plentitude and peace.

"I was wanting all my life to feel such a feeling of peace and harmony and 
I am very happy now to be able to come here and experience it," she added.

Arriving today for a week-long program of activities in celebration of the 
inauguration of the terraces were Baha'i delegations representing more than 
180 countries. They came with high hopes and great expectations, eager to 
get a look at a project that, over the last ten years and at a cost of some 
$250 million, has virtually reshaped Mount Carmel.

"It has been my dream to come here, and now my dreams have come true," said 
Jaipal Bali Singh, a 42-year-old businessman from Srinagar, Kashmir, India, 
who has been a Baha'i since 1986. "For me, this is the holiest place on earth."

Indeed, Mount Carmel, which is sacred to Christians, Jews and Muslims, also 
looms large in Baha'i history and prophetic expectations. Baha'u'llah, the 
Faith's Founder, chose Mount Carmel as the site of the spiritual and 
administrative center of His cause in the 1890s when He was a prisoner here 
of the Ottoman Empire and the mountain slope was covered with little more 
than rocks and shrubs. He prophesied much greatness for Mount Carmel in the 
future.

Now, the fact that such extraordinary gardens, as well as two majestic new 
administrative buildings, have arisen from those humble beginnings is a 
source of great pride to Baha'is, who raised the funds for their completion 
entirely from among themselves.

"When I arrived, I came here directly from the bus and tears just came to 
my eyes because of the beauty and spirituality of these terraces," said 
Jean-Marie Nau, a delegate from Luxembourg. "This is a fulfillment of the 
prophecies of our Faith, that these structures would be built here."

The celebration of the completion of these projects begins on Monday with a 
devotional visit by the 3,000 Baha'is assembled here to the resting place 
of Baha'u'llah, at Bahji, located across Haifa Bay in the city of Acre.

On Tuesday, 22 May, the delegates will assemble for a concert at the base 
of Mount Carmel to officially inaugurate the terraces, which extend nearly 
one kilometer up the mountainside. The concert will feature the premier of 
two orchestral works composed especially for the occasion. Hundreds of 
Baha'i communities in other countries are expected to watch the concert and 
inaugural ceremony through a live satellite feed and Webcast.

On Wednesday, the 3000 delegates will ascent the mountain as a group, 
climbing the stairs towards the Shrine of the Bab, which is the focus of 
the terraces and the second-most holy place to Baha'is after Bahji.

On Thursday and Friday, further cultural, informational and devotional 
programs will be held on Mount Carmel and at the nearby Haifa Convention 
Centre.

"Over the course of the next few days, the Baha'is gathered here from 
around the world will celebrate what we feel is a significant achievement 
in the creation of these terraces, " said Douglas Samimi-Moore, Program 
Coordinator for the inaugural events. "One of the themes to the overall 
program will be a look back at the growth and development of the Baha'i 
Faith in the 20th century -- and a look ahead at the future.

"The people gathered here represent the kind of world we are working for as 
Baha'is, a unified community of people from every nation, religion, race, 
ethnic group and culture," said Mr. Samimi-Moore. "And they are people, by 
and large, who have been working towards this goal, whether in Africa, 
Asia, the Americas, Europe or other regions of the world."

Many of the participants arriving today indeed felt that the diversity of 
the gathering itself is very much a fulfillment of Baha'u'llah's vision for 
humanity.

"To meet so many brothers and sisters, from different countries, speaking 
different languages, it brings me great happiness," said Claudio Limachi, a 
member of the Quechua people who is part of the delegation from Bolivia. "I 
feel like I am next to God, with people of different colors, from different 
places, and that we are flowers of one garden."

Peter Wathum Onega, a 48-year-old farmer from a remote village in 
northwestern Uganda, also said that the combination of beautiful gardens 
and diverse people was his idea of heaven.

"When you see this place, you see that peace can come in the world," said 
Mr. Onega. "The beauty here, it can bring people together. It is, like the 
Bible says, the Kingdom of God on earth."

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