Visiting Bahá’í Holy Places/Mansion of Mazra‘ih
Mansion of Mazra‘ih[edit]
“Bahá’u’lláh loved the beauty and verdure of the country. One day He passed the remark: ‘I have not gazed on verdure for nine years. The country is the world of the soul, the city is the world of bodies.’ When I heard indirectly of this saying I realized that He was longing for the country, and I was sure that whatever I could do towards the carrying out of His wish would be successful. There was in ‘Akká at that time a man called Muḥammad Páshá Ṣafwat, who was very much opposed to us. He had a palace called Mazra‘ih, about four miles north of the city, a lovely place, surrounded by gardens and with a stream of running water. . . . I got the house at a very low rent, about five pounds per annum, paid him for five years and made a contract. I sent labourers to repair the place and put the garden in order and had a bath built. I also had a carriage prepared for the use of the Blessed Beauty. . . .” 30 (‘Abdu’l-Bahá)
“ANNOUNCE FRIENDS DELIVERY AFTER MORE THAN FIFTY YEARS KEYS QASR MAZRA‘IH BY ISRAEL AUTHORITIES. HISTORIC DWELLING-PLACE BAHÁ’U’LLÁH AFTER LEAVING PRISON CITY ‘AKKÁ NOW BEING FURNISHED ANTICIPATION OPENING DOOR PILGRIMAGE.” 31 (Shoghi Effendi)
In March 1973 the Universal House of Justice cabled further good news: ‘OCCASION NAW-RÚZ 130 JOYOUSLY ANNOUNCE BAHÁ’Í WORLD ACQUISITION BY PURCHASE MANSION MAZRA‘IH.’ 32 It was acquired from a descendant of ‘Abdu’lláh Páshá, thereby adding immeasurably to the Bahá’í endowments in the Holy Land. And in September 1980 land at the north-eastern corner of the Mansion was purchased to provide additional garden space, as recorded in another cablegram of the House of Justice:
“ALSO PURCHASED NEARLY 50,000 SQUARE METRES AGRICULTURAL LAND ADJACENT TO AND NORTH OF MAZRA‘IH PROPERTY AS PROTECTION TO MANSION IN RAPIDLY DEVELOPING AREA.” 33