The Baháʼí Terraces, or the Hanging Gardens of Haifa, are garden terraces on

Mount Carmel Mount Carmel (; ), also known in Arabic as Mount Mar Elias (; ), is a coastal mountain range in northern Israel stretching from the Mediterranean Sea towards the southeast. The range is a UNESCO biosphere reserve. A number of towns are situat ...

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

, and one of the most popular tourist destinations in Israel. Completed in 2001, there are 19 terraces and more than 1,500 steps ascending the mountain. The central terrace has the Shrine of the Báb, one of the main religious sites of the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

. The architect was Fariborz Sahba from Iran, and the structural engineers were Karban and Co. from Haifa. The terraces are part of a complex of Baháʼí holy places in Haifa,

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

, and western Galilee that were inscribed as a UNESCO

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

in July 2008. The gardens rest in the neighborhoods of Wadi Nisnas and Hadar HaCarmel.

Symbolism

The terraces represent the first eighteen disciples of the Báb, who were designated " Letters of the Living", although no terraces are connected with particular individuals.

Design

Nine concentric circles provide the main geometry of the eighteen terraces. Just as the identification of a circle presupposes a centre, so the terraces have been conceived as generated from the Shrine of the Báb. The eighteen terraces plus the one terrace of the Shrine of the Báb make nineteen terraces total. Nineteen is a significant number within both the Baháʼí and Bábí religions. The gardens have elements of the Persian gardens of Shiraz,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, the Nishat Bagh gardens of Jammu and Kashmir,

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and English gardens, isolating the site from the noise of the surroundings and connecting the different Baháʼí buildings on Mount Carmel together. Fariborz Sahba began work in 1987 designing the gardens and oversaw construction. The terraces were opened to the public in June 2001. Beginning at its base, the gardens extend almost up the side of Mount Carmel, covering some of land. The gardens are linked by a set of stairs flanked by twin streams of running water cascading down the mountainside through the steps and terrace bridges.

Water and ecology

The irrigation system includes a computer which, based on meteorologic data it receives, controls hundreds of valves to distribute water throughout the gardens by sprinkling and dripping. This is done at night and in the early morning, to avoid wasting water by evaporation. The water that flows alongside the stairs is circulating in a closed system within each terrace, so that little water is wasted.

Tourism

In 2013, 917,031 tourists and 8,000 Baháʼí pilgrims visited the gardens. Haifa's Mayor Amram Mitzna described the gardens as the eighth wonder of the world. "We have been very lucky," he said, "not many cities get a park that is so incredibly beautiful – free of charge."

Gallery

File:Shrine of the Báb in Haifa 6801-11.jpg, Aerial view of the bridge terrace behind the Shrine of the Báb File:Bahá'í gardens by David Shankbone.jpg, Downward view of the upper terraces File:Israel - Haifa - Bahai Gardens 004.jpg, Downward view of the upper terraces File:Bahai Garden in Haifa Israel.jpg, Terraces at night File:Baha'i cactus gardens Haifa.jpg, Succulent garden near the Shrine of the Báb

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Terraces (Baha'i) Bahá'í pilgrimages Bahá'í Faith in Israel Tourist attractions in Haifa Gardens in Israel Persian gardens in Israel Bahá'í gardens Bahai