Thursday - Akka area

Today is our first of 2 long days. This means we leave the PRC at 8 am and don’t return until dinner time. The bus takes us first to the Prison City of Akka, across the bay from Haifa. This is where Bahá’u’llah, the Holy Family, and many of the believers were finally imprisoned after years of exile and moving. We had the bounty of seeing the second cell area where they were imprisoned. It’s actually a little larger than I had imagined, but fitting 13 people into one of those cells would indeed be crowded. It certainly puts an image to the stories I’ve heard for so many years. We then go to see and enter the land gate before heading to the House of Abbud. This beautiful home has an inner courtyard as you enter, before going up the steps to the main living area and another small outdoor courtyard. We spend an hour and half here then it’s back on the bus where we finally are taken to the Bahji Visitor’s Center where we can eat a late lunch. Our final stop of this long day is Mazra’il, a country house and gardens where Bahá’u’llah was first allowed out of the prison city. After returning to Haifa at the end of the day, I walk up a side street to a small coffee shop for a bite of dinner before our evening talk. UHJ member Mr. Grossman speaks to us on the subject of light. Once again, I find my eyelids heavy with sleep and am happy to return to the hotel and my bed!