Bahai Center in Haifa

Saturday morning and most of the group went off on another tour. We remained behind to visit with Cousin Lenny once again. Together we toured the magnificent Bahai temple grounds that run below the hotel Dan Carmel where we stayed. Stu walked down all 720 steps without any complaints. The views of the garden and harbor were magnificent and well worth our energy.
From the Bahai grounds we were off to a nearby Druze village. The Druze are an Arab people who are not Muslim. They have practiced their own religion for about 300 years and live peacefully with the Israelis. Their sons serve mandatory military service, at their request, and nearly 400 have given their lives in support of Israel. We visited the Druze memorial which also houses a tribute to Itzak Rabin, a well loved figure for the Druze. We were the only visitors to this memorial, which seldom sees tourists on days other than on Memorial Day. A very friendly, non-English speaking security guard let us in and showed us around. We were surprised that as we were about to leave he spoke, in very clear English, of his hope for our new president Obama. We shared our goodbyes, thanked him for his hospitality while he thanked us for the visit. This country continues to surprise us.