Between Harmony and Bunker

Saturday, December 28th

The electricity is back. Al-Hamdulillah. Yesterday evening it was temporarily out for a few hours due to a thunderstorm. Today the weather has calmed down a bit and after breakfast we head to the Bahai Garden and Shrine here in Akko. However, I will have to read up on the fact that the Bahai Faith, with its approximately eight million followers, is considered one of the world religions. The Bahai follow an Abrahamic monotheism with an action-oriented ethics as the centerpiece, focusing on humanity, social development, gender equality, and social cohesion. Another central principle of the Bahai Faith is that religion must not contradict reason and science. The two shrines in Israel, here in Akko and in Haifa, are the most important pilgrimage sites of the Bahai Faith.

The Bahai Shrine here in Akko includes a huge garden complex that we are now entering. We walk through a huge alley paved with pebbles, on the sides of which perfectly designed garden areas are located. We walk along the path until the end, getting closer and closer to the shrine, which eventually appears in front of us with a large black and gold gate. A security employee stands in front of it and waits for a moment until some people come out of the shrine, then he grants us access as well. We then walk on a red brick path, where not a single stone is out of place, past perfectly trimmed bushes and neat flowerbeds, until we reach the shrine. A young Bahai stands in front of it, greeting us friendly with a slight bow. In a calm voice, he tells us where we are and what we need to pay attention to inside the shrine: all devices should be on silent, no pictures, no loud voices to not disturb the praying Bahai.

As we enter the building, another Bahai is already waiting for us. He also greets us kindly and softly and asks us to take off our shoes. Then he tells us a little bit about the Bahai Faith. Everything in this religion is meant to bring peace, with oneself, with the environment, and with fellow human beings. The huge perfectly designed garden complex is also part of this teaching. Its sole purpose is to find inner peace, as the Bahai tells us. He also asks us for absolute silence and then leads us inside the shrine on a carpeted floor.

The room we are now in is completely covered with carpets. Patterned carpets are also hanging on the walls. The room is flooded with daylight through the light coming from above. Plants are placed and hung in the middle, allowing us to walk around them in a circle. Various rooms lead off to the sides of the room, intended for prayer and meditation. In the otherwise absolute silence, the only sound is the bird chirping from outside.

Even though none of us had any connection to the Bahai Faith before, we all agree afterwards that the harmony radiating from everywhere in the Bahai complex is very special. It is a contrast to the overcrowded and noisy churches we have seen in Jerusalem, where people tend to fight for the perfect photo. Moreover, considering how many conflicts are triggered by various other religions worldwide, the philosophy behind the Bahai Faith is truly progressive and exemplary.

With a little more peace of mind, we return to Akko, where we walk through the market again and stop at a Knafe stand. An older woman prepares fresh Knafe in small pans, serves it with milk ice cream, and it is truly a sweet dream. Then we continue to the best falafel in town, then a round to the harbor, and then we leave Akko again. On the way, we make a short stop in Haifa, where we admire the Bahai terraces there, and then we continue to Jaffa, a part of Tel Aviv.

The Tel Aviv skyline already gives a hint that here, unlike in the narrow alleys of Akko, urban vibes prevail. But first, we have to find our AirBnB apartment, which turns out to be more challenging than expected. The owner is currently outside of Jaffa and has sent us a description of his apartment, which is not self-explanatory at all. After some searching, it turns out that the parking lot, to which he has described the way, is in an underground garage. From there, we are supposed to take the elevator to the second floor, where the apartment is behind door number 6. Alright then.

Hanni, Sophia, and I take the first elevator and walk ahead until we stand in front of the sixth door. I am a little surprised when it simply opens, and we find ourselves in a living room. Belonging to a stranger. The woman sitting on the sofa looks at us with a puzzled look as we stand in her doorway with our huge backpacks and luggage. And we are also confused. "I think it's a mistake," she tells us. We explain to her that we are looking for an AirBnB apartment, to which she explains that we are probably in the wrong building. This is house number 4. Okay, that's where the confusion lies. We need to go to house number 2. Obviously, we accidentally entered the wrong elevator, which we also explain to Sophia's parents, who have now made it up here as well.

After some searching, we finally find the right house and the hiding place where our key is stored, and we end up - finally! - in the right apartment. At first glance, everything looks like a top-modern, high-class city apartment. Open kitchen, cozy living area with velvet couch and XXL TV, small balcony with a view of the Tel Aviv skyline. But at second glance, we realize that this apartment is probably not lived in very often. The fancy kitchen is only sparsely equipped, and the "books" decoratively placed on the small dresser next to the door turn out to be empty cardboard boxes.

We also make another discovery. The smaller of the two bedrooms, in which only a double bed is located and you can hardly move, seems a bit strange to us from the beginning, until Sophia's mom notices something. The door to this chamber is bulletproof, as is the wall adjacent to the next room. We have a bunker in our apartment.

Of course, we don't miss the opportunity to turn it into a running gag, but it's still a bit strange. The houses here in this gated community are all built the same way, suggesting that every apartment has such a small bunker room. We are almost tempted to walk back into the first apartment we accidentally entered to check. Although we basically have no idea what it's all about, the suspicion arises that it somehow relates to the Israel-Palestine conflict. This suspicion is reinforced when we check the code we need to open the gate downstairs that leads into the gated community. 1948. The year of the Israeli Declaration of Independence and the first Arab-Israeli War, which resulted in the expulsion of 750,000 Arab Palestinians from their homes. I have no words for that. Except that I'd rather not be here.

In the Bahai Garden in Akko

The colorful flowers here...

...are perfectly arranged.

Back in Akko: the kittens here are still sleepy

And we end up in an artist alley

They are truly creative artworks...

...made from old materials hanging on the walls

Then we go back to the market:

Colorful...

...and delicious treats...

...over treats.

Finally: Knafe. Mhhh :-)

Goodbye Akko!

Visiting the Bahai terraces in Haifa...

...we then go to Jaffa. Here's the view from our balcony.