Saturday, May 18, 2013









The Exiles and Travels of Bahá'u'lláh






Both of the above maps omit the two years--from April 10, 1854 until March 19, 1856-- when Bahá'u'lláh retired to the wilderness of Sulaymaniyyih, approximately 125 miles north-northwest of Baghdad. Part of that time, Bahá'u'lláh spent in isolation in a cave on a mountain named Sar-Galú. 











The Story of the Hermit, from May Maxwell's  'An Early Pilgrimage'



Then (Abdu'l-Baha) told us the story of the hermit; how once when the Blessed Perfection was travelling from one place to another with His followers He passed through a lonely country where, at some little distance from the highway, a hermit lived alone in a cave. He was a holy man, and having heard that Our Lord, Bahá'u'lláh, would pass that way, he watched eagerly for His approach. When the Manifestation arrived at that spot the hermit knelt down and kissed the dust before His feet, and said to Him: 'Oh, my Lord, I am a poor man living alone in a cave nearby; but henceforth I shall account myself the happiest of mortals if Thou wilt but come for a moment to my cave and bless it Thy Presence.' Then Bahá'u'lláh told the man that he would come, not for a moment but for three days, and He bade His followers cast their tents, and await His return. The poor man was so overcome with joy and gratitude that he was speechless, and led the way in humble silence to his lowly dwelling in a rock. There the Glorious one sat with him, talking to him, and teaching him, and toward evening the man bethought himself that he had nothing to offer his great Guest but some dry meat and some dark bread, and water from a spring nearby. Not knowing what to do he threw himself at the feet of his Lord and confessed his dilemma. Bahá'u'lláh comforted him and by a word bade him fetch the meat and bread and water; then the Lord of the universe partook of this frugal repast with joy and fragrance as though it had been a banquet, and during the three days of His visit they ate only of this food which seemed to the poor hermit the most delicious he had ever eaten. Bahá'u'lláh declared that He had never been more nobly entertained or received greater hospitality and love.

'This,' exclaimed the Master, when He had finished the story, 'shows us how little man requires when he is nourished by the sweetest of all foods--the love of God.'





The Bridge at Büyükçekmece


Bahá'u'lláh and His followers crossed this bridge after being exiled from Istanbul (Constantinople) to Erdirne (Adrianople).



I found the bridge on Google Street View.