21/7 Haifa

Saturday 21^st Haifa

I was up at 6.30 doing tai chris on the 5mx5m deck between the pools. The sun had just come up and we were approaching the coast slowly. I really enjoyed it – better than in a gym.

We had done brekky before 8 so we were ready to head off when they opened the gangway. Right in the port terminal there was a kiosk selling tours to Nazareth for much less than the Costa version but we had already decided to stay in Haifa. The tour took in the Church of the Nativity but that is really only a commemorative structure built in the modern era and not necessarily anywhere near the original manger. Some people went to the River Jordan and had the option to be re-baptised but that didn’t excite us.

Haifa itself was almost totally closed. All we could see were a couple of small cafes and hairdressers. We set off straight up the coastal ridge and climbed steadily for an hour. This brought us to the Bahai Temple high up with sweeping panoramic views across the bay. They opened the gate at 9am and it was noticeable that the gateman had a firearm. We had seen dozens of assault rifles in Jerusalem with young soldiers on their way to or from home for the weekend.

The temple grounds were stunning –acres of landscaped lawn and flower beds sheltered under sprawling trees, some of which were oozing out clouds of fragrance that hung and wafted throughout the garden. The flower beds were enclosed in hundreds of metres of mini-hedges that were meticulously manicured about 6” high and 4” thick with some shrub that held shape and made a very attractive border. The paths were strewn with rounded white pebbles or scrunchy terracotta bits.

The central path leading downhill from the temple itself ran on for hundreds of metres through more gardens, leading directly to a major road that ran all the way down to the sea. The effect was to project the entire landscape as an extension of the temple grounds. Quite amazing.

The temple itself was open to the public. The inside was smaller than you would expect from the grand domed exterior. I should have said that the roof was a shiny gold colour that echoed the railings around the garden and between the sections. There were more staff (some armed) around the gardens, guiding visitors about.  At the temple we were asked to remove our shoes and to remain silent inside. The inside was totally carpeted with rugs of a Persian appearance.  We were in one of 8 rooms set in a 3x3 shape around a central square, that was shielded by a mesh screen. We were only in there a minute or so, reading a prayer on the wall that depicted the usual sort of religious theme of a Prophet followed by a human form of their God. Very similar to the Judeo/Christian/Moslem model. One of the volunteers told us it was a Persian religion that was unusual in that it made everyone equal – even women.

Government building (above & below)

Ba hai temple & gardens

From there we went a little higher to see a sculpture park before wandering back downhill. We had lunch on the boat then went back to the port which had wifi. We found Stephie and had a bit of a chat with Lissa, who seemed to have a much more solid connection between us and the people on the screen than she had before. Stephie also gave us the heads up on the latest correspondence- yeah bills and overdrawn credit cards.  

This reminded us of Cassandra

The boat was sufficiently deserted for us to flaunt ourselves in the Jacuzzi before lunch and J sat in on the craft session again to paint a ceramic bowl. Tom came down for dinner – apparently their weekend was extremely successful and they got 30 or so relatives together to see them, which was very gratifying for Nava (a name at last).

The show was devoted to a tenor who sang very well but didn’t project any personality. Entertainment has been a bit thin of late with little being offered during the days and lacklustre evening efforts. The previous two nights were a quirky 1 man circus and a pianist who played an interesting mix of classics and movie themes but also with little personal touch.

View from the boat with the Ba Hai temple half way up hill right hand side

Nice modern building