Bahá'í Terraces
Interesting facts
- More than 1,500 steps climb the terraces, and the gardens cover about 200,000 square metres of the mountainside.
- The eighteen terraces flanking the shrine stand for the Báb's first eighteen disciples, while nineteen is a sacred number in the Bahá'í and Bábí faiths.
- The project took about 13 years and is estimated to have cost around 250 million dollars.
- In 2013 the gardens drew more than 900,000 tourists, alongside some 8,000 Bahá'í pilgrims.
- The structural engineering for the terraces was carried out by Karban and Co., a firm based in Haifa itself.
- Much of the planting is drought-tolerant, with species such as rosemary, oleander, olive, cypress and almond in the informal areas.
Why it is worth it
The Bahá'í Terraces climb the northern slope of Mount Carmel in Haifa as a single straight ribbon of garden, about a kilometre long, from the edge of the old German Colony up to the ridge of the mountain. There are nineteen terraces: nine below and nine above a central one that carries the golden-domed Shrine of the Báb, resting place of the forerunner of the Bahá'í Faith. Seen from the bottom, the gardens lead the eye straight up the hill to the dome; seen from the top, they fall away toward the port and the curve of the bay.
The design is the work of the architect Fariborz Sahba, who began on it in 1987; the completed terraces opened to the public in June 2001. The plan is built on nine concentric circles centred on the shrine, and the planting borrows openly from several traditions: the geometry of Persian gardens, the stepped water gardens of Kashmir, the lawns and borders of English landscaping. Running down the staircases on both sides are narrow stone channels in which water slips from terrace to terrace, and the clipped hedges, gravel paths and balustrades are kept with a precision that is part of the devotional meaning of the place. Irrigation is computer-controlled and the water in each terrace is recirculated, a careful answer to a dry Mediterranean summer.
The terraces, the shrine and the other Bahá'í holy places in Haifa and Western Galilee were inscribed together as a World Heritage Site in 2008. They are both a place of pilgrimage for Bahá'ís from around the world and one of the most visited sights in Israel, admired by people of every faith for their stillness and order. The shrine itself is open to visitors in the morning; modest dress is expected, and the quiet of the inner gardens is part of what makes them remarkable.
Getting there
The terraces rise above central Haifa, about 1.2 km from the city centre. Uri Michaeli Haifa International Airport (HFA) is about 5 km away. The main entrance to the shrine and inner gardens is at 80 Hatzionut Avenue; the upper terraces can be entered from 61 Yefe Nof Street and the lower gardens viewed from the plaza at 21 Hagefen Street, at the head of the German Colony.
Plan your visit
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Nearby places
- Hall of the Crusader Knights 14.4 km · fortress
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From the encyclopaedia
The Baháʼí Terraces, or the Hanging Gardens of Haifa, are garden terraces on Mount Carmel in Haifa, 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 is highlighted by the Shrine of the Báb, one of the main religious sites of the Baháʼí Faith. The site's architect was Fariborz Sahba, and the structural engineers were Karban and Co. from Haifa.
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