1996 Pilgrimage Report

Chris S. Cholas

1609 W. Schunior St. #405

Edinburg, Texas 78539 USA

April 5, 1996

Beloved family and friends,

            We've returned safely from our adventures, spiritual and physical, to the Holy Land and to London.  Having Roshan and Rahmat with me made the journey very special.

            In view of recent bombings in Tel Aviv and in Jerusalem, we expected security to be tighter than it was, and for the people to be perhaps more pensive and tenser than they seemed.  Everywhere we were met with friendliness and courtesy, qualities so often missing in large cities.  Our travel arrangements worked out fine, and aside for the fact that most things in Israel are expensive relative to the US, we made out well.

            We arrived in Tel Aviv just moments before President Clinton was scheduled to deboard from his United States Presidential plane which we saw stationed out on the tarmac, so the airport was being quickly cleared for his entrance.  However, security did take time to scrutinize Rahmat a bit, due to his Arabic name and the fact that his US passport was issued in Belize, but as soon as we showed our invitation letter from the Bahá'í pilgrimage Office in Haifa, they smiled and waved us through. 

            Police and soldiers lined the way all along the one-hour route to Jerusalem, as our sherut (a shared taxi) drove just moments ahead of the diplomatic motorcade bringing the President to Jerusalem for a 24-hour visit. 

            The only unfortunate thing about our timing was that the following day many roads were closed in Jerusalem, so we had to cancel our hope to ride the famous Jerusalem tour bus 99, which takes tourists around the city's main historical sites and museums for five dollars a day.  We spent our first full day in Jerusalem wandering the Old city where we entered in the Armenian section by the Jaffa Gate.  Better weather could not have been prescribed, as the air was cool and fresh from recent rains.  We visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, then Roshan and Rahmat climbed up the spiral staircase of the old Lutheran Church to get a panoramic view of the area.  After that we passed through the maze-like, narrow pathways of the Jewish and Muslim sections of the old city, stopping to shop from time to time.  We walked along part of the Via Dolorosa which is believed to be the way Jesus passed burdened with His cross to the Crucifixion.  Various Christian tour groups speaking French, German, Spanish, Japanese and English would slowly move through the streets from time to time.  It seemed kind of like blood being pumped through the arteries from the heart; the groups would move for a while and then pause while their guides explained something, then the mass would flow together down the chosen path again, until another point of interest was reached. 

            We reached the entrance to the plaza on top of the ancient Temple of David, where the Dome of the Rock and the Aqsa Mosque stand, just as noonday prayers for the Moslems finished.   The mosques are closed to non-Moslems during prayer, so we waited until the believers left the area and visitors were again permitted to enter.  Once by the Dome of the Rock, I waited outside while Roshan and Rahmat ventured in, their shoes removed, to see the inside of the famed mosque, which they reported was quite beautiful, as are the exterior dome and mosaic-tiled sides. 

            From the Dome of the Rock we wound our way to the Wailing Wall where Jews of many sects come to offer their prayers.  We then returned back through the Muslim section to the Jaffa gate where we had begun hours before.   In an Armenian restaurant we rested over freshly squeezed orange juice and delicious coffee, while sharing what we had seen and learned by our homemade tour.

            The next day we went by bus to the Museum of Remembrance dedicated to the victims of the Holocaust.  The museum serves as a solemn reminder of the brutal depths that men can sink to on the one hand, and as a testimony to the incredible endurance that human beings under siege and torture can manifest.

            As Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath, was nearing at sunset, we returned to the vicinity of our hotel looking to buy food before stores closed.  We found a "hole-in-the-wall" restaurant packed with people.  The smell was so grand that I couldn't resist going in with Roshan and Rahmat.  They were serving their Friday special with lamb, beans and rice with homemade bread!  The owner, so gracious and friendly, gave us samples of the food before we ordered to insure our satisfaction.  This was one of the best meals we were to have in our entire trip, and I think the three of us ate for around twelve dollars with drinks.  

            In our room that evening we turned on the television just as the excellent movie about Helen Keller, "The Miracle Worker" was starting.  It was a nice finishing touch on our Jerusalem stay.   

            The next day at noon our taxi arrived to carry us to Tiberias (Teveria) on the Sea of Galilee.  The route, which now bypasses the ancient town of Jericho, winds through land, dry and desolate, but still inhabited by nomadic Bedouins with their goats and camels.  Our right side was lined with barb-wired fence much of the way, denoting the Jordan border.  The closer we came to Tiberias, the greener became the terrain.  By the time we arrived to the southern shores of the Sea of Galilee, 696 feet below sea level, spring was in full bloom!

            We spent two nights in the Hotel Galilee overlooking both Tiberias and the Sea, taking walks along the shores during the day.  One morning we decided to visit the hot springs a couple of miles out of the city.  We asked a man at a bus stop which bus to take and before we knew it, he stopped one of his friends who was driving by and had us special delivered to the door of the old hot springs.  I offered the driver some money for the ride, but our new-found friend, who escorted us on the ride, emphatically refused it and told us to enjoy our stay.

            There are two hot springs open to the public; an old one and a modern, new one.  A third hot springs, built in the style of the old Turkish baths, was closed for renovation.  We particularly wanted to visit that very old one, as we understood that 'Abdu'l-Bahá had come to bathe there several times after he was released from prison in the early part of this century.   After wandering in the two opened facilities, we chose to bathe in the old one, which was slightly less expensive.  Women and men have separate bathing pools, and the men's side seemed to be extra hot.  Roshan verified later that the women's side was several degrees cooler.  Five minutes was about the maximum time I could wade in the water without getting out for a while.  I felt thoroughly refreshed by the time I showered and dress and returned outside to see the lovely hills that surround Galilee.

            On route back to our hotel we spent more time in the promenade area of central Tiberias.  Later Roshan and Rahmat bought some carry-out lamb kabob for us to eat in the hotel, while we watched figure skating championships from Russia on our hotel television. 

            Monday morning, March 18, we ate breakfast and anxiously prepared to check out.  Our friend from Haifa, Mrs. Maralynn Dunbar, had told us she wanted to meet us at the hotel and take us to see a few places and deliver us to the Bahá'í pilgrim house in Haifa after lunch for our pilgrimage orientation.

            Mrs. Dunbar drove us to the beautiful Church of the Beatitudes on the northern side of Galilee at the site where Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount.  While entering the eight-sided temple, a rain began to fall.  Everything glistened in the fresh wetness.  Ironically, Mussolini, the terrible Italian dictator, had commissioned the construction of this church, which is cared for by an order of nuns. 

            Our second stop with the ancient fishing village of Capernaum, where Saint Peter hailed from.   Jesus had visited Capernaum various times.  The ruins of this lovely place still carry a special, ethereal feeling.  I could understand why many Christians consider this their favorite of favorite places when they visit Israel.            

            We passed by Nazareth from a distance.  Our time was short and Maralynn told us that traffic in Nazareth is generally congested, so we decided to visit the Plain of Armageddon instead, as our final pre-pilgrimage tour.  Armageddon is a broad, pasture area behind the range of mountains known as Mount Carmel.

            Maralynn drove us to our hotel on the top of Mount Carmel and waited for us while we checked in, so she could deliver us before we were late to the Pilgrim House halfway down the mountainsides below.  We had reached the biblical Carmel, which means "the Vineyard of the Lord", mentioned in Isaiah 35:1-2:   The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.  It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord and the excellency of our God.

            Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, wrote "Within the heart of this planet lies the 'Most Holy Land', acclaimed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá as 'the Nest of the Prophets' and which must be regarded as the centre of the (Bahá'í) world and the Qiblih (Point of Adoration) of the nations (Citadel of Faith, p. 95)."   Aware of this, most Bahá'ís world-wide long to make a pilgrimage sometime in their life to the Bahá'í Holy Places located in and around Mount Carmel, "the Tabernacle of Glory," "the mountain of the Lord to which all nations shall flow." 

            Near Haifa is the crusader city of Akká, which served as a penal colony in the times of the Turkish Ottomans, whose Sultan banished and imprisoned Bahá'u'lláh and his family to this "most desolate place".  Now no longer desolate, one can wander freely through the streets of Akká and see reminders of both the remnants of the crusader times and of the more recent incarceration of Bahá'u'lláh. 

            After nine years of imprisonment in Akká, Bahá'u'lláh, at the begging of both local Muslim and civic leaders, who had become enchanted by Bahá'u'lláh's majesty even under the harshest of settings, left the prison walls to reside in an abandoned mansion in a place known as Bahji "Delight", which was rented by followers and repaired for what would be His last residence.  When Bahá'u'lláh ascended on May 29, 1892, His eldest son, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, buried Him in one of the rooms of an adjacent building used by pilgrims who arrived to attain Bahá'u'lláh's Presence.  'Abdu'l-Bahá informed the Ottoman authorities with a cable that began:  "The Sun of Bahá has set."   That room for Bahá'ís the world over now serves as the Most Holy Place. 

            The majority of Bahá'ís will never have the means to be able to take the physical pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and those who do reach often have done so after years of patiently waiting, working and praying to go.  It's natural, therefore, that by the time a Bahá'í arrives for his or her pilgrimage, that he or she will come anticipating to lay their burdens down in the Holy Shrines, to pray for their particular concerns and needs, and that he or she hopes to be filled with guidance and new life. 

            So it was with the three of us as we entered the pilgrim house located near the always majestic and beautiful Shrine of the Báb.  We had come with long lists of personal concerns, friends and family, projects and things to pray for; we had come for OUR pilgrimage. 

            As we entered the pilgrim house for the scheduled orientation, we were met by dozens of others who had also just arrived for THEIR pilgrimage.  It was in this wonderful flurry of excitement that I began to realize what would become clearer as the nine days unfolded:  that each pilgrim is part of a wave of pilgrims that briefly passes over the shores of the World Centre and then returns to be blended in the sea of humanity again.   During these precious nine days at the World Centre, we explore every Shrine, every corner and room of the Holy Places.  We absorb as much as we can of the delightful talks and exchanges that take place throughout the stay. Every scent from the flowers in the gardens, every melody shared by birds in the trees, every rush of breeze or movement of clouds is special during pilgrimage.  No wonder that even the most stone-faced and objective of men can be moved to tears more than once during their pilgrim visit.

            And just as a sea wave briefly immerses the sand and rocks of the shore with water, each wave of pilgrims brings life-bearing news and joy to the World Centre of our Faith.  We were often told this by members of the Universal House of Justice, members of the International Teaching Centre and staff personnel. The pilgrims bring much needed vitality to the World Centre.

            For nine days we mingled together, pilgrims and servants.  All who serve at the Bahá'í World Centre see themselves as servants, even the members of the Universal House of Justice, or should I say, ESPECIALLY the members of the Universal House of Justice.  The World Centre now has about 700 Bahá'ís serving a growing variety of needs.  Youth volunteers make up a significant part of these servants -- youth from everywhere.  We met youth from diverse places such as Chad, Mongolia, Siberia, Solomon Islands and El Salvador. They usually serve as guards, garden helpers or custodial helpers for a term of 1 year to 2 and 1/2 years.  Their presence is a delight.

            The pilgrimage consists of scheduled visits to different Holy Places with Bahá'í guides, evening presentations by members of the Universal House of Justice and Counsellors, and free time for the pilgrims to return to the Shrines for personal prayer and meditation.

            The most essential purpose of pilgrimage, to pray in the Holy Shrines of Bahá'u'lláh, the Báb and of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, is also the part hardest to share with others, because it is an experience beyond words and is very personal. In consideration to others, we are asked not to pray out loud in the Shrines, but other than that, how we pray is left to us.

            I found that on some of my visits to one or the other of the Shrines, my mind would be filled with people who I wanted to pray for, such as all of my dear family.  On another day during a visit to one of the Shrines, I would just want to meditate on the majesty of the Cause and not have any particular objective to pray for.  On yet another occasion I would find myself groping with those deeply internal parts of my own life that I wanted to change, begging for help from the Divine Source of Help.  

            One free afternoon, Roshan, Rahmat and I went with several Bahá'ís from Albania, India and Canada to the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh in Bahji.  While inside the Holy Place, a thunderstorm passed over with crackling lightening and deafening thunder.  What an experience! 

            During that same visit (after the storm had gone on its way and the Shrine was exceedingly quiet again) I was seated near the Holy Threshold leading into the room where Bahá'u'lláh is buried.  I had finished my prayers and I sat gazing toward that sacred Spot.  One of the pilgrims, a Persian believer, had also finished his prayers and he peacefully approached the Threshold and prostrated himself with his head on the Threshold for several moments.  Then he raised his head and reached into his coat pocket and brought out a number of photographs of children, which he carefully placed on the Threshold near the rose petals that decorate the Threshold each day. Again, he bowed before his Lord for a few minutes.  Then he gathered the photos together and put them back into his coat pocket, rose and slowly backed away from the Threshold and out of the Shrine.  We each come with our special needs, concerns and wishes, and we each receive our share of bounties and grace.  He is, after all, "the prayer-hearing, the prayer-answering God."

            Though there's so much more to share, when the cup is full the rest just overflows and falls away.  I send off this brief report from a pilgrim, a son, a brother and a friend with dearest hopes that each one of you are in the best of health, happiness and spirits. 

                                                I love each of you very much, Chris