Mansion of Bahjí

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The final place of exile of Bahá'u'lláh: the Mansion at Bahjí, Acre, Israel.

Mansion of Bahjí

The Mansion of Bahjí (Arabic: delight) is a term used to describe a summer house in Acre, Israel, where Bahá'u'lláh, founder of the Bahá'í Faith died in 1892. His shrine is located next to this house. The whole area was called Al-Bahjá (Place of Delight).

The area was originally a garden planted by Suleiman Pasha, who was the ruler of Acre, for his daughter Fatimih, and he named it Bahji.^[1] Later the area was further beautified by `Abdu'llah Pasha, and in 1931 when Ibrahim Pasha besieged Acre he used the property as his headquarters.^[1] The property was well known for its beautiful gardens and pond fed by an aqueduct. The property then fell into the possession of a Christian family, the Jamals.^[1]

In 1870 `Udi Khammar, a wealthy merchant from Acre who also originally owned the House of `Abbúd, bought some of the land from the Jamals close to the mansion of `Abdu'llah Pasha and built the Mansion of Bahji, over a much earlier and smaller building.^[1]^[2] `Udi Khammar had built the house for his family, and when he died was buried in a tomb in the south-east corner of the wall directly around the building.^[3]^[1] In 1879 an epidemic caused the inhabitants to flee and the building became vacant.

`Abdu'l-Bahá first rented, and then purchased, the mansion for Bahá'u'lláh and the Bahá'í holy family to live in, and Bahá'u'lláh moved from Mazra'ih to Bahji and resided in the building until his death.^[3]^[1] In 1890 the Cambridge orientalist Edward Granville Browne met Bahá'u'lláh in this house; after this meeting he wrote his famous pen-portrait of Bahá'u'lláh.^[2]

When Bahá'u'lláh died in 1892 he was interred in one of the surrounding buildings, and that building became the shrine of Bahá'u'lláh,^[2]. The site has since been beautified with paradise gardens, which are termed Haram-i-Aqdas (the Most Holy Precints or Sanctuary) and are intersected by a circular path which serves to circumambulate the shrine of Bahá'u'lláh.^[2] The Mansion, shrine, and surrounding gardens are among the most sacred spots on earth for Bahá'ís and are Bahá'í pilgrimage sites.^[1]^[2]