(this is about the first day of pilgrimage)
we got up, had our breakfast, and went to terrace 19. just like the day before, we couldn't enter the terraces, so we took the way around, which resulted in this pic:
just to know where we're heading...
get down to the pilgrim reception center to register, and we're given a program and some papers and booklets with information. the first program point was a short walk to the office of public information, where we were shown a short video about pilgrimage.
before coming, a friend of mine had told me that I'd be seeing a guy named ian here, who I was supposed to have met a few years earlier in a youth conference. unfortunately, I could for my life not remember how he looked like, but to my luck there was a picture of him (together with 3 girls, hmmm... ;)) in the presentation and as soon as I saw it I said to myself "ah! that's ian!". definitely saved me there!
after the short presentation we went back to the reception center and had a lunch. to our great surprise, two more friends walk in, with invitations to their wedding. hadn't seen her for two years, and him - first time :)
so lunch finished, and it was time to officially start the pilgrimage. we walked up to the gardens outside the Shrine of the Báb for the recitation of the Tablets of Visitation for Baha'u'llah and the Báb and the one for 'Abdu'l-Bahá. when this was done, we circumambulated the Shrine, and then had to wait for a while until they cleaned up and prepared the Shrines for us to go say our prayers there for the first time. to try and get ready for it, I went and sat on the stairs in the gardens.
as I said before, I felt that I hadn't prepared enough for my pilgrimage. and I really felt it as I got there. I had a hard time grasping that I was really there, and why I was there... when the Shrine was opened, I felt an irresistible urge to go in, so I went and prepared myself (washed my hands and face, and left my stuff in the pilgrim house) and then went in.
to this day, I still don't know which prayer was the first one I said in there, all I remember is the feeling I had. all in all, it was one of the most sincere and honest prayer sessions I had, a very special one, that really helped me get into the "pilgrimage mood".
after the prayers and dinner it was time for the first talk for pilgrims. these talks are usually held by members of the Universal House of Justice, the supreme legislative organ of the Faith, or by members of the International Teaching Centre in the evenings. however, on the first day we had the blessing and privilege of having Dr. Alí-Muhammad Varqá, the last of the Hands of the Cause living to welcome us and remind us again what a special bounty and honor it is to be received as a pilgrim in the Holy Land. it was a lovely speech to hear, and very heartwarming.
the talk ended at around 8 or so, and we decided to take a walk down the terraces, my brother and our friendly staff member. going down at night meant that there was the opportunity to take some artistic pictures without having to worry about anything else. this resulted in some quite nice pictures, such as these:
(for more pictures, click here)
we walked all the way down the terraces, off to hamegenim (a street way off of any resemblance of civilization ;)) to drop our friend off, and then took a cab back home. good day!
we got up, had our breakfast, and went to terrace 19. just like the day before, we couldn't enter the terraces, so we took the way around, which resulted in this pic:
just to know where we're heading...
get down to the pilgrim reception center to register, and we're given a program and some papers and booklets with information. the first program point was a short walk to the office of public information, where we were shown a short video about pilgrimage.
before coming, a friend of mine had told me that I'd be seeing a guy named ian here, who I was supposed to have met a few years earlier in a youth conference. unfortunately, I could for my life not remember how he looked like, but to my luck there was a picture of him (together with 3 girls, hmmm... ;)) in the presentation and as soon as I saw it I said to myself "ah! that's ian!". definitely saved me there!
after the short presentation we went back to the reception center and had a lunch. to our great surprise, two more friends walk in, with invitations to their wedding. hadn't seen her for two years, and him - first time :)
so lunch finished, and it was time to officially start the pilgrimage. we walked up to the gardens outside the Shrine of the Báb for the recitation of the Tablets of Visitation for Baha'u'llah and the Báb and the one for 'Abdu'l-Bahá. when this was done, we circumambulated the Shrine, and then had to wait for a while until they cleaned up and prepared the Shrines for us to go say our prayers there for the first time. to try and get ready for it, I went and sat on the stairs in the gardens.
as I said before, I felt that I hadn't prepared enough for my pilgrimage. and I really felt it as I got there. I had a hard time grasping that I was really there, and why I was there... when the Shrine was opened, I felt an irresistible urge to go in, so I went and prepared myself (washed my hands and face, and left my stuff in the pilgrim house) and then went in.
to this day, I still don't know which prayer was the first one I said in there, all I remember is the feeling I had. all in all, it was one of the most sincere and honest prayer sessions I had, a very special one, that really helped me get into the "pilgrimage mood".
after the prayers and dinner it was time for the first talk for pilgrims. these talks are usually held by members of the Universal House of Justice, the supreme legislative organ of the Faith, or by members of the International Teaching Centre in the evenings. however, on the first day we had the blessing and privilege of having Dr. Alí-Muhammad Varqá, the last of the Hands of the Cause living to welcome us and remind us again what a special bounty and honor it is to be received as a pilgrim in the Holy Land. it was a lovely speech to hear, and very heartwarming.
the talk ended at around 8 or so, and we decided to take a walk down the terraces, my brother and our friendly staff member. going down at night meant that there was the opportunity to take some artistic pictures without having to worry about anything else. this resulted in some quite nice pictures, such as these:
(for more pictures, click here)
we walked all the way down the terraces, off to hamegenim (a street way off of any resemblance of civilization ;)) to drop our friend off, and then took a cab back home. good day!
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