Twenty three days to go...still!

Today we discovered that our countdown to departure is a little bit out! It's actually 23 days today...ooops!

View from Terraces above the Shrine of the Bab looking out towards Haifa Bay

Anyway, the other news is that today we also received a letter from the Baha'i Office of Pilgrimage with a few pieces of travel advice before we depart. This Office deals with applications for pilgrimage from thousands of Baha'is each year. Applicants generally have to wait for up to 5-6 years before their name comes to the top of the waiting list. They then receive a wide selection of pilgrimage dates from which they can choose. Each pilgrimage group consists of 200 (soon to be increased to 400) pilgrims from every corner of the globe. With the thousands of people applying for pilgrimage each year, plus the thousands more who make the journey to the Holy Land each year, working in the Office of Pilgrimage must be a stupendous task!

It is becoming difficult for us to contain our growing excitement as our departure day creeps ever closer. We still have LOTS of things left to do (vaccinations being one!) and the fact that we both tend to be procrastinators doesn't help either!

We'll keep you posted on our progress or lack thereof!

Twenty four days to go...

Twenty four days to go until we embark on our journey to the centre of the Earth - a journey that will culminate in our pilgrimage to the Baha'i Shrines and Gardens on the slopes of Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel - the most sacred spot on the planet for millions of Baha'is throughout the world.

View of the Shrine of the Bab, the Prophet-Forerunner of the Baha'i Faith

Along the way, we will be travelling with two of our friends taking in the sights, sounds, tastes (yes, and smells!!!) of southern India. As we draw nearer towards our destination we will pass through Turkey, following in the footsteps of Baha'u'llah, the Prophet-Founder of the Baha'i Faith, as He trod the path of exile from Tehran to Baghdad, then Constantinople (Istanbul), Adrianople (Edirne) and finally to the Holy Land, Israel.

We will update our blog regularly so that you can keep track of where we are and what we're up to! Our departure date is Thursday 7th December, and we arrive back in Perth on Saturday 20th January...45 days of what we are both anticipating will be a momentous adventure, both physically and spiritually!