Picture Gallery

Bahá'u'lláh designated Bahá'í Houses of Worship as spiritual gathering places for prayer and meditation around which will cluster social, humanitarian, educational, and scientific institutions. So far, seven Houses of Worship have been built - the auxiliary institutions have not yet been established. Many more temples are envisioned for the future.

All the Houses of Worship have nine sides and a central dome, and are open to people of all religions for the worship of God. Devotional programmes are simple, consisting of prayers, meditations, and the reading of selections from the sacred scriptures of the Bahá'í Faith and other world religions. Music is provided by unaccompanied choirs. There are no sermons or rituals.

The burial place, or shrine, of Bahá'u'lláh near Acre/Akka (above) and that of the Báb on Mount Carmel in Haifa (below) are the holiest spots on earth for Bahá'ís. The shrines are the object of pilgrimage for thousands of Bahá'ís each year.

The Shrine of the Báb, Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel. Each year, nearly 400,000 people visit the Shrine, terraces, and gardens on Mount Carmel.

Bahá'í World Centre on Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel

The Bahá'í spiritual and administrative centre known as the, Bahá'í World Centre, is permanently established in the Acre-Haifa area of northern Israel, following the explicit instructions of Bahá'u'lláh. The administrative offices are positioned in an arc across Mount Carmel in Haifa. In the picture above, from left to right:

• the International Teaching Centre
  
• the Seat of the Universal House of Justice
• the Centre for the Study of the Texts
• the International Archives Building
• 
  

The International Teaching Centre on Mount Carmel at the Bahá'í World Centre in Haifa, Israel.

The Seat of the Universal House of Justice on Mount Carmel at the Bahá'í World Centre in Haifa, Israel.

The Centre for the Study of the Texts, on Mount Carmel at the Bahá'í World Centre in Haifa, Israel.

The International Archives Building on Mount Carmel at the Bahá'í World Centre in Haifa, Israel.

Cranmore Tower, Cranmore, Shepton Mallet, Somerset. This is the UK and sometimes Europe training centre for individuals who want to complete the series of study circle books 1-7 intensively. Typically, each book takes one week.