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…)