PEACE IN THE CITY:The Case of Haifa’s Baha'i Gardens, Israel
Noga Collins-Kreiner Department of Geography and Environmental Studies,
University of Haifa, Israel and
Jay D. Gatrell Department of Geography, Geology, and Anthropology, Indiana State
University, Terre Haute, IN, USA
First European Conference on Tourism and PeaceOctober 21-24, 2008
• The Baha'i Faith is a religion founded by Baha'u'llah in nineteenth-century Persia
• There are 5 to 7 million Baha'is around the world in more than 200 countries
• Baha'i teachings emphasize the spiritual oneness of humanity and the underlying unity of the major world religions
• The Baha'i religion was ranked as the world's second fastest growing religion- 1.7% growth rate
• Baha'is elect members to nine person Spiritual Assemblies, which run the affairs of the religion at local, regional andnational levels
Historical Background
The Holy Space• 1891- Baha'u'llah sanctified Mt. Carmel
(Haifa)• 1909- Holy sites established in Haifa and
Acre
The Baha'i Gardens
• From 1980‟s- A massive expansion of building including:
– The Archives
– Universal House of Justice
– The International Teaching Centre
– Centre for the Study of Texts
• 2001 - Opening of the Baha'i Gardens
• 2008 - UNESCO declaration of a World Heritage Site
Features of the Baha'i Gardens
• Light• Greenery • Structure (geometry)• Esthetics• Number (9 or 18 terraces)• Length (1 km at a height of 340 meters)
Research Aims• To examine the different uses of a
pilgrimage-tourism shared space• To create typologies of visitors and their
visiting experiences in a shared space• To identify the criteria leading to a win-
win situation • To suggest recommendations for future
development of other sites
Theoretical Background• The relationship between pilgrimage and
tourism merit considerable attention in recent years
• “Modern/secular Pilgrimage”- visits to cultural sites, to graveyards, “Dark Tourism”, Spiritual Pilgrimage and more
Dilemmas
• The visitors & the religious organizations:
pilgrims are not tourists as their motives
are different
• The Tourism industry: Pilgrims are akin to
tourists as they act similarly and use the
local infrastructure
• As a result: planning and marketing
dilemmas: How do you plan, develop and
market a site with different “meanings”?
Methods• Observations• Participant Observations• Interviews with:
–Visitors–Baha'i volunteers–Tour leaders–Local Population
• Analyzing Internet diaries• Newspaper Analysis
Findings
(“A Love Story”)
• Excellent relationship of the Baha'i with the local government and the local population in the past 100 years
• No complaints toward the Baha'i religion, people or site
• A positive attitude of the local population toward the Baha'i
The Reasons
• Haifa is a secular and tolerant city
• Haifa is not important to any other religion
• The Baha'i do not live in Haifa
• The Baha'i do not conduct any missionary activity
• The gardens are appropriate to the
city's structure, look and image
• Gradual development over years
Economic Benefits
• Economic contribution to the city
(Investment of $250 million)
• A constant flow of tourists (estimations
of 2.5 million tourists between June 2006
and January 2004)
"Bringing honey to Haifa: Baha‟i pilgrims
arrive as missile attacks begin” (http://www.bahai.us/node/138)
• The gardens serve as a major tool of marketing and a major anchor for tourism development of Haifa
• The gardens became the city‟s symbol
• They are prominent features of the city‟s image
A Tourism Anchor
Final Criteria1. Local community: attitudes of local communities to
the site
2. Physical site characteristics: size, shape,
visibility, scale and adaptation to the environment
3. Perceptions of the site and the religion it stands
for
4. Location and importance: religious importance
meanings, uniqueness sensitivity
5. Timing: local political timing, international timing,
historical timing
6. Development: the rate establishment: gradual,
rapid
Criteria Secondary criteria Explanation Mormon Baha'i
1 Physical aspects of the site
Size, Shape, Visibility, Scale-Adaptation to surrounding environment-
Actual size, Actual shapeIs it highly visible? Does it 'fit in'?
A high building of unique design. It does not blend with its environment and is very visible
There are landscaped Gardens and a few low buildings surrounding the shrine on the slopes of the hill, not dominating the view from its height point.
2 Perception of the sitereligion
The Perceived Image How does the local population perceive the site? The image of the site including size, shape, scale visibility and adjustment
Mormon religion and the site are perceived as transgressive missionary and intrusive
Harmonic, cooperative and non- missionary image is perceived of both the Baha'i religion and site. Also a tourist site image.
3 Location and Importance of the site
Religious Importance-Religious ImportanceMeaning-MeaningUniqueness-UniquenessSensitivity-
How important is the location to each group because of current and historical events
Most important; together with the symbolism and meaning of Jerusalem to the Jewish state, religion and people and to other religions
No importance; Haifa carries no meaning or symbolism to the Jewish state. Not meaningful to other religions or sects
4 Outer Space/ Local communities and attitudes
Homogeneity and Unity of Local communities
Local citizenry's homogeneity. Ability to 'contain' people of other religions. Intrinsic unity of these communities
Conflictual population. Constant friction between the different Christian denominations, between secular and orthodox Jewry
Homogeneous secular community with a demonstrated ability of toleration and integration.
5 Timing Local Political Timing-Local Political TimingInternational Timing-International TimingHistorical Timing-
The appropriate time from the local political stand point.
Continuous ongoing conflicts viz a viz control in Jerusalem
Appropriate political timing. Consensus of opinion in Haifa
6 Development Speed and Progress-A Tourism Aspect
The speed of the process and progress? Was it gradual? Was there a tourism aspect?
Rapid, Not gradual. Only first suggested in 1979 to build a center. Not touristic
Very gradual, step by step process. Acquisition of land and property began in 1909. A tourism site
Comparison between the Baha'i and the Mormon case in Jerusalem
The
Visitor
Content Time Space
The Visitor
Experience
The secular tourist
(A structured tour)
CONTENT
• History, Esthetics,
technology
• Non Baha'i leaders
• A “secular” narrative
• Emphasize on the
settings
• Non religious tour
TIME
• Limited time
( minutes)
• Visiting hours
• Shrine visiting hours:
9.00-12.00
SPACE
• Descending the steps
• Limited Entrance
• Pre-ordering by
phone
• Giving identifying
details
• Identification at
entrance
• A tour from “A” to
“B”
• One tour per day
• Does not include
entry to the shrine
and the religious
buildings
• Precise route
The Pilgrim:
(Part of a spiritual experience)
Content
• A religious visit
• Religious prayers and
customs
• Encirclement of the
shrine
• Formal activities
• A spiritual, religious and
ritual experience
Time
• Unlimited
• Part of a pilgrimage
of 9 days
• Including a visit in the
gardens & buildings
• Free days
Space
• The whole space
• Ascending or
descending
• Entrance to the
different buildings
• A special importance
to terrace #10
Differentiation
between
Pilgrimage and
Tourism
• Two different
experiences at the
site in time, space
and content
• Two “Senses of a
Place”
Matching of Two Narratives
• The Baha'i succeeded because of their „social-spatial planning‟ and by emphasizing the gardens secularity
• A matching between the esthetic narrative of the Baha'i (not the religious one) and the secular-touristic narrative of the city
• This emphasis made it easy for the city to adopt the Baha‟i as the city‟s symbol and as means for tourism development
• A layered visiting experience which
preserves the religious nature of the site
but allows the local population to reap
secular rewards
• An existence of a „shared space‟ with a
differentiation in content, time and space
of the experience
• These practices transform the holy site
into a secular shared community asset
and thus helps to bridge between the
different “players” of the tourism system
and to bring peace into the city
Summary
Advantages & Contribution
• This differentiation prevents conflicts:
–Between the visitors (tourists, pilgrims)
–Between the Baha'i and the local population
–Between the Baha'i and the local municipality
• A win-win situation
• Suggesting recommendations for future
development of other religious/secular sites
Thank You!
(See you at the
Baha'i Gardens…)