While I found the program through my interest in archaeology I have been pleasantly surprised at the amount of religious connection to both the work that we are doing as well as the sites we are visiting. I was slightly intimidated for the program as I thought that I would be the only person whose main area of study was not archaeology. Within the first few days I met tons of other people who also studied religion just like me. This past weekend we visited the Baha’i Gardens that happen to be inside of Akko! As a religious studies major this was a really incredible experience for me. The Bahai Gardens are considered the holiest site for the Baha’i religion, as it is the resting place of Baha’u’llah, the founder of the religion. Not only did we get to visit the beautiful gardens but we were also able to visit the shrine in which Baha’u’llah is buried. This burial site was chosen because the founder lived in Akko before his death. While I, as well as many other members of the group, might not practice the Baha’i religion personally it was still really cool to be able to visit a site that for some is incredibly holy. The Gardens were a lot larger than I assumed they would be. It was mostly manicured hedges and red and white flowers. I assumed it would be more flowers of different varieties but for the amount of space they had there were not a lot of flowers. Once we walked past the entrance we arrived at a large gate. Beyond it a series of hedges leading up to the shrine which we were able to go inside. Inside were several small rooms where members of the faith come to individually pray inside. The site also includes dormitories that house members of the religion that stay there to volunteer and learn. Visiting Akko’s Baha’i Gardens was an incredible way to learn about one of the newest and fastest growing religions in the world accompanied by incredible plants and flowers.
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