Atlas of Bahá’í holy places

The Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel. In the far distance can be seen the city of ‘Akká; close behind it is Bahjí, site of the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh.

Bahá’í holy places are sacred sites that are considered particularly significant in the Bahá'í Faith, generally due to their close connections with the Central Figures of the Faith: the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh, also known as the Twin Manifestations of God for this age; and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the eldest son and chosen successor of Bahá’u’lláh. As a result of the travels of these Central Figures, many Bahá’í holy places are scattered throughout the Middle East, particularly in Iran (the birthplace and cradle of the Faith), Iraq, Palestine (now modern-day Israel), and Turkey. Bahá'ís also consider certain other locations to be special or sacred; these include, for instance, the Bahá’í Shrine in Montreal, Canada.

The most holy spot on the earth for Bahá’ís is the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh in Bahjí, outside the city of ‘Akká (Acre) in Israel. This spot, the final resting place of Bahá’u’lláh, is the Qiblih towards which all adult Bahá’ís turn in prayer each day, and marks one of the principal destinations for Bahá’í pilgrimage. The other major destination for pilgrimage is the Shrine of the Báb in Haifa, where the mortal remains of the Báb were interred after being transferred from Persia. These and other sites surrounding the Bahá’í World Centre are located in modern-day Israel due to the persecution of the followers of the Báb and the banishment of Bahá’u’lláh from Persia to Palestine in the Ottoman Empire, many years before the state of Israel existed. Other destinations for Bahá’í pilgrimage exist—namely the House of the Báb in Shiraz, Iran, and the House of Bahá’u’lláh in Baghdad, Iraq—but these were destroyed in 1979 and 2013, respectively. Detailed plans for both Houses exist, making it possible that these sites will eventually be rebuilt and become part of regular pilgrimage for Bahá’ís.

Bahá'í Houses of Worship (known as Mashriqu'l-Adhkárs) are also considered to be sacred spaces in that they are devoted to the worship of God and service to humanity, though they generally lack direct connections to the Central Figures of the Faith; in this atlas, these Houses of Worship are treated separately in their own section.

Overview

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Iran

See also: Atlas of Bahá’í holy places in Iran

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Iraq

See also: Atlas of Bahá’í holy places in Iraq

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Israel

See also: Atlas of Bahá’í holy places in Israel

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Turkey

See also: Atlas of Bahá’í holy places in Turkey

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Canada

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Notes and references

General remarks The Bahai.media Atlas of the World is an organized and commented collection of geographical and historical maps. The main page is therefore the portal to maps and cartography. That page contains links to entries by country, continent and by topic as well as general notes and references. Every entry has an introduction section in English. The text of the introduction(s) is based on the content of the Bahaipedia encyclopedia. For sources of the introduction see therefore the Bahaipedia entries linked to. The same goes for the texts in the history sections. Historical maps are included in the continent, country and dependency entries. The status of various entities is disputed. See the content for the entities concerned. Notes References