Tourism, Heritage and Pilgrimage: The Case of Haifa`s Baha´`i

First European Conference on Tourism and Peace
October 21-24, 2008
PEACE IN THE CITY:
The Case of Haifa’s Baha'i Gardens, Israel
Noga Collins-Kreiner
Department of Geography and Environmental Studies,
University of Haifa, Israel
and
Jay D. Gatrell
Department of Geography, Geology, and Anthropology, Indiana State
University, Terre Haute, IN, USA
Historical Background
• The Baha'i Faith is a religion founded by
Baha'u'llah in nineteenth-century Persia
• There are 5 to 7 million Baha'is around the world
in more than 200 countries
• Baha'i teachings emphasize the spiritual oneness
of humanity and the underlying unity of the major
world religions
• The Baha'i religion was ranked as the world's
second fastest growing religion- 1.7% growth rate
• Baha'is elect members to nine
person Spiritual Assemblies,
which run the affairs of the
religion at local, regional and
national levels
The Holy Space
• 1891- Baha'u'llah sanctified Mt. Carmel
(Haifa)
• 1909- Holy sites established in Haifa and
Acre
The Baha'i Gardens
• From 1980‟s- A massive expansion of
building including:
–
The Archives
–
Universal House of Justice
–
The International Teaching Centre
–
Centre for the Study of Texts
• 2001 - Opening of the Baha'i Gardens
• 2008 - UNESCO declaration of a World
Heritage Site
Features of the Baha'i Gardens
•
•
•
•
•
•
Light
Greenery
Structure (geometry)
Esthetics
Number (9 or 18 terraces)
Length (1 km at a height of 340 meters)
Research Aims
• To examine the different uses of a
pilgrimage-tourism shared space
• To create typologies of visitors and their
visiting experiences in a shared space
• To identify the criteria leading to a winwin situation
• To suggest recommendations for future
development of other sites
Theoretical Background
• The relationship between pilgrimage and
tourism merit considerable attention in
recent years
• “Modern/secular Pilgrimage”- visits to
cultural sites, to graveyards, “Dark
Tourism”, Spiritual Pilgrimage and more
Dilemmas
•
•
•
The visitors & the religious organizations:
pilgrims are not tourists as their motives
are different
The Tourism industry: Pilgrims are akin to
tourists as they act similarly and use the
local infrastructure
As a result: planning and marketing
dilemmas: How do you plan, develop and
market a site with different “meanings”?
Methods
• Observations
• Participant Observations
• Interviews with:
– Visitors
– Baha'i volunteers
– Tour leaders
– Local Population
• Analyzing Internet diaries
• Newspaper Analysis
Findings
(“A Love Story”)
• Excellent relationship of the Baha'i with
the local government and the local
population in the past 100 years
• No complaints toward the Baha'i religion,
people or site
• A positive attitude of the local population
toward the Baha'i
The Reasons
•
•
•
•
Haifa is a secular and tolerant city
Haifa is not important to any other religion
The Baha'i do not live in Haifa
The Baha'i do not conduct any missionary
activity
• The gardens are appropriate to the
city's structure, look and image
• Gradual development over years
Economic Benefits
• Economic contribution to the city
(Investment of $250 million)
• A constant flow of tourists (estimations
of 2.5 million tourists between June 2006
and January 2004)
"Bringing honey to Haifa: Baha‟i pilgrims
arrive as missile attacks begin”
(http://www.bahai.us/node/138)
A Tourism Anchor
• The gardens serve as
a major tool of
marketing and a
major anchor for
tourism development
of Haifa
• The gardens became
the city‟s symbol
• They are prominent
features of the city‟s
image
Final Criteria
1. Local community: attitudes of local communities to
the site
2. Physical site characteristics: size, shape,
visibility, scale and adaptation to the environment
3. Perceptions of the site and the religion it stands
for
4. Location and importance: religious importance
meanings, uniqueness sensitivity
5. Timing: local political timing, international timing,
historical timing
6. Development: the rate establishment: gradual,
rapid
Comparison between the Baha'i and the Mormon case in Jerusalem
Criteria
Secondary criteria
Explanation
Mormon
Baha'i
1
Physical aspects
of the site
Size, Shape, Visibility,
ScaleAdaptation to
surrounding
environment-
Actual size, Actual shape
Is it highly visible?
Does it 'fit in'?
A high building of unique
design. It does not blend
with its environment and
is very visible
There are landscaped
Gardens and a few low
buildings surrounding the
shrine on the slopes of the
hill, not dominating the
view from its height point.
2
Perception of
the site
religion
The Perceived Image
How does the local
population perceive the
site? The image of the site
including size, shape, scale
visibility and adjustment
Mormon religion and the
site are perceived as
transgressive missionary
and intrusive
Harmonic, cooperative
and non- missionary
image is perceived of both
the Baha'i religion and
site. Also a tourist site
image.
3
Location and
Importance of
the site
Religious Importance
ImportanceMeaning
MeaningUniqueness
UniquenessSensitivity-
How important is the
location to each group
because of current and
historical events
Most important; together
with the symbolism and
meaning of Jerusalem to
the Jewish state, religion
and people and to other
religions
No importance; Haifa
carries no meaning or
symbolism to the Jewish
state. Not meaningful to
other religions or sects
4
Outer Space/
Local
communities
and attitudes
Homogeneity and Unity
of Local communities
Local citizenry's
homogeneity. Ability to
'contain' people of other
religions. Intrinsic unity of
these communities
Conflictual population.
Constant friction between
the different Christian
denominations, between
secular and orthodox
Jewry
Homogeneous secular
community with a
demonstrated ability of
toleration and integration.
5
Timing
Local Political Timing
TimingInternational Timing
TimingHistorical Timing-
The appropriate time from
the local political stand
point.
Continuous ongoing
conflicts viz a viz control
in Jerusalem
Appropriate political
timing. Consensus of
opinion in Haifa
6
Development
The speed of the process
and progress? Was it
gradual? Was there a
tourism aspect?
Rapid, Not gradual. Only
first suggested in 1979 to
build a center. Not
touristic
Very gradual, step by step
process. Acquisition of
land and property began
in 1909. A tourism site
Speed and ProgressA Tourism Aspect
The Visitor
Experience
The
Visitor
Content
Time
Space
The secular tourist
(A structured tour)
CONTENT
• History, Esthetics,
technology
• Non Baha'i leaders
• A “secular” narrative
• Emphasize on the
settings
• Non religious tour
TIME
• Limited time
(
minutes)
• Visiting hours
• Shrine visiting hours:
9.00-12.00
SPACE
• Descending the steps
• Limited Entrance
• Pre-ordering by
phone
• Giving identifying
details
• Identification at
entrance
• A tour from “A” to
“B”
• One tour per day
• Does not include
entry to the shrine
and the religious
buildings
• Precise route
The Pilgrim:
(Part of a spiritual experience)
Content
• A religious visit
• Religious prayers and
customs
• Encirclement of the
shrine
• Formal activities
• A spiritual, religious and
ritual experience
Time
• Unlimited
• Part of a pilgrimage
of 9 days
• Including a visit in the
gardens & buildings
• Free days
Space
• The whole space
• Ascending or
descending
• Entrance to the
different buildings
• A special importance
to terrace #10
Differentiation
between
Pilgrimage and
Tourism
• Two different
experiences at the
site in time, space
and content
• Two “Senses of a
Place”
Matching of Two Narratives
• The Baha'i succeeded because of their
„social-spatial planning‟ and by
emphasizing the gardens secularity
• A matching between the esthetic narrative
of the Baha'i (not the religious one) and
the secular-touristic narrative of the city
• This emphasis made it easy for the city to
adopt the Baha‟i as the city‟s symbol and
as means for tourism development
Summary
• A layered visiting experience which
preserves the religious nature of the site
but allows the local population to reap
secular rewards
• An existence of a „shared space‟ with a
differentiation in content, time and space
of the experience
• These practices transform the holy site
into a secular shared community asset
and thus helps to bridge between the
different “players” of the tourism system
and to bring peace into the city
Advantages & Contribution
• This differentiation prevents conflicts:
–Between the visitors (tourists, pilgrims)
–Between the Baha'i and the local population
–Between the Baha'i and the local municipality
• A win-win situation
• Suggesting recommendations for future
development of other religious/secular sites
Thank You!
(See you at the
Baha'i Gardens…)