March 30, 2014

The ruins of the House of the Báb

The House of the Báb in Shiraz, the holiest Baha'i shrine in Iran, was demolished in 1981.

March 26, 2014

House of 'Abdu'l-Baha in Akka between 1897 to 1908

The House of 'Abdu'l-Baha in Akka, which was His official residence from 1897 to 1908, was acquired in 1975. The building, known locally as the house of 'Abdu'llah Pasha, was the birthplace of Shoghi Effendi. Restoration of the house began in December 1977. (The Baha'i World 1976-1979)

March 24, 2014

The “primary reason why the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh chose to appear in Persia” – the Guardian explains

… the primary reason why the Bab and Bahá'u'lláh chose to appear in Persia, and to make it the first repository of their Revelation, was because, of all the peoples and nations of the civilized world, that race and nation had, as so often depicted by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, sunk to such ignominious depths, and manifested so great a perversity, as to find no parallel among its contemporaries. For no more convincing proof could be adduced demonstrating the regenerating spirit animating the Revelations proclaimed by the Bab and Bahá'u'lláh than their power to transform what can be truly regarded as one of the most backward, the most cowardly, and perverse of peoples into a race of heroes, fit to effect in turn a similar revolution in the life of mankind. To have appeared among a race or nation which by its intrinsic worth and high attainments seemed to warrant the inestimable privilege of being made the receptacle of such a Revelation would in the eyes of an unbelieving world greatly reduce the efficacy of that Message, and detract from the self-sufficiency of its omnipotent power. 
(Shoghi Effendi, The Advent of Divine Justice)

March 2, 2014

Fort Tabarsi: The well used by the Bábís

The well used by the Bábís in the fortress of Shaykh Tabarsi in Mazindaran, Iran. (The Baha'i World 1938-1940)