Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Lovell Bearse Pemberton, Interviews with 'Abdu'l-Baha, bahai-library.com.
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/Ifcobern pilgrimage
to

Palestine

X. . pemberton

Will UluBlrattoitB from pr,QtoorjirjB bg tl|r atrtlior

DORRANCE AND COMPANY
PUBLISHERS PHILADELPHIA MCMXXV
COPYRIGHT 1928
DORRANCE Ok COMPANY INC

MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Contents
CHAPTER PAGE

I The First Step 13
II London in February 22
III In Gay Paree 27
IV Through Switzerland 33
V Impressions of Italy 40
VI On the Mediterranean 49
VII In the Land of the Pharaohs 56
VIII From Egypt to Palestine 66
IX The New Bahai Temple 74
X What the Bahai Movement Is 82
XI Haifa to Tiberias 90
XII Interviews With Abdul Baha 97
XIII Snapshots on the Sea of Galilee 105
XIV From the Sea of Galilee to Jerusalem 110
XV In Jerusalem 117
XVI Jerusalem Continued 130
XVII Mosque of Omar and the Via Dolorosa 137
XVIII A Day at Bethlehem 143
XIX From the Mount of Olives to Mount Zion ... 150
XX Last Days in Jerusalem 155
XXI From Jerusalem to Cairo 161
XXII Here and There in Cairo 166
XXIII Cairo to Alexandria 172
XXIV How the Pyramids Were Built 178
XXV Woman's Sphere in the Orient 184
XXVI The Future of Bahaism 190
XXVII On the Good Ship Esperia 198
XXVIII From Naples to Paris 202
XXIX A Glimpse of Paris 209
XXX Playgrounds of Children and Kings 218
XXXI From Paris to New York 225
XXXII Hints to Travelers 230
XXXIII Transportation Problems 240
XXXIV Dress, Tips and Guides 252
XXXV The End of the Trail 260
ICfst of Uttustratfons
Model of the Bahai Temple at Chicago, Illinois. .
.Frontispiece
PACING PAGE

Looking Down From the Ruins of the Palaces of the
Caesars 44

Garden of Rizwan, Near Haifa 92
Abdul Baha 100

The Garden of Gethsemane 121

Statue of Joan of Arc in The Madeleine, Paris 205
XII

Interviews With Abdul Baha

Before going further it might be well to explain that
the three outstanding figures in the Bahai world are
Ali Muhammad, known as the Bab (meaning the Door
or Gate) ; Huseyn Ali of Nur, afterwards called Baha

Ullah (pronounced Buh-hah Oo-lah, accented on the
second and fourth syllables and meaning the "Glory of
God"), and Abdul Baha (pronounced Ahb-dool Buh-hah,
accented on the first and last syllables, and meaning
literally "Slave or Servant of the Glory"). The latter
is the son of Baha Ullah, and is the present head of the
movement.

Among the Bahais these three personages are regarded
respectively as the Messenger, the Manifestation and the
Expounder of the cause. Of these, the first was martyred
in 1850 at the age of thirty, in the public square at
Tabriz; the second, Beha Ullah, after being persecuted
and imprisoned for nearly forty years, finally departed
this life in May, 1892, at Behje, near Acca, where he is
buried. Before his death he appointed his son, Abdul
Baha to be the "Center of the Covenant," and author
ized Expounder of his writings. The only claim that
Abdul Baha makes for himself is that he is a great
educator, and the Servant of God in this Revelation.
Sir Abdul Baha Abbas (as he was recently knighted
by the English government), was born in Teheran,

[97]
A Modern Pilgrimage

Persia, May 23, 1844, and is consequently in the seventyeighth year of his age. He is a genial, kindly man of
medium size, somewhat stooped, with long, snow-white
hair and beard. His face is browned and seamed with
many lines that at first would seem to indicate a man
of more advanced age ; but in his movements he is active
and alert, while his majestic bearing gives one the im
pression that he is a person of prominence and power.
You are immediately attracted by his large grey eyes
that have a kindly, but searching look, and seem to take
in everything at a glance. His mental and physical
faculties are in full vigor. He wears a long, brown robe
of silk and camel's wool, with wide, flowing sleeves, and
his massive head is crowned with a pure white turban.
In speech he is ready and apt; his expressions concise
and exact, and his genial talks lead up to a point and
convey a lesson, which his
hearers cannot fail to grasp.

During the early stages of our trip I had entertained
see this important person (as
vague hopes that I might
I had not yet received permission to visit him), and
often wondered if I would really meet him. You can
inter
imagine my surprise when I was invited to daily
views with him during our short stay in Tiberias, and

the honor I felt in being accorded a private interview
of three-quarters of an hour's duration.
When ushered into his presence, you are greeted with
are you ?" in English, strongly
a kindly smile and "How

accented on the second word. If you reply, "Very

well!" he laughingly repeats it in Persian, which is very
like the English expression, and invites you to be seated;

{98 1
Interviews With Abdul Bahai

after which he usually inquires of each one, "Are you
well and happy?" Then, after a few preliminary remarks,
he begins his
talk, which lasts from twenty to thirty
minutes. You listen, or answer the questions directed
to you, until he has finished, when he rises, shakes hands
all around, and ends the interview. As he speaks very
little English, his talks are in Persian, and translated by
his secretary, Azizullah, who has a ready command of
English as well as Persian, Arabic and other languages.
In the first interview, which was given in his room
in the tower of the hotel at Tiberias, he commented on
the beauty of the scenery of Palestine, and related how
the Lord told Abraham that it was the finest in the
world and if there was anything better He would have
given it to him. He then likened it to California, its
climate, the contour of the hills, its flowers and foliage
being much the same, and in this respect he called
California "the Holy Land of America." He concluded
his talk with the story of the man who wanted to be
come a Bahai.

Some years ago, he said, he was traveling through
Persia, in company with several others, one of whom
was a merchant known to him as a man of rather
questionable reputation. The caravan stopped at a cer

tain town, and numbers of the people flocked out to
meet Abdul Baha. From there they proceeded to
another town, where more people came out to meet him; then
to another town, where the same thing was repeated. After
this had occurred a number of times, and every
where crowds of people had invariably rushed out to

[99]
A Modern Pilgrimage

meet him, the merchant called him aside and told him
he wished to become a Bahai. On being asked why,
he said, "You are a Bahai, and wherever you go great
crowds of people flock out to meet you, while no one
comes to meet me ; so I wish to become a Bahai." Asked

if that was the real reason, he replied, "I also think it
will help my business, as I will have all these people
come to meet me." Then Abdul Baha told him, "Do not
become a Bahai. It is better for you to remain as

you are."
The moral to this little story was too obvious to need
any explanation.
The next day Abdul Baha spoke of the essential and
non-essential things of life and illustrated his remarks
with the story of the young Arab woman who preferred
not to live in thecity. It seems that a wealthy man
who was traveling through the desert happened to meet
a young Arab woman, and being struck
with her youth
and beauty, begged her to accompany him to the city,
other
offering her many inducements to do so. Among
adorn her with silk and
things, he offered to person
should have the
costly raiment, promising that she
beautiful
daintiest and most expensive morsels to eat; a
to wait her. After
palace to live in, and servants upon
he had exhausted his glowing arguments, the young
Arab woman at him and said, "Why should I
laughed
be a your expensive
prisoner, and shut myself up
in

walls? Why should I worry with your silks and fine
have all that I need.
raiment? Here I am happy and
and I have the pure
The whole blue sky is above me,

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ABUL'I. BAHA
Interviews With Abdul Bahai

air to breathe. Why should I give up my freedom?"
Early one morning I visited Magdala, and returning
at about eleven o'clock I noticed that Abdul Baha was

seated alone in the parlor of the hotel. As I passed,
he came to the door and beckoned me to enter. While
he was saying, "Come in!" his gestures indicated the
opposite direction; but as I had been informed before
hand of this lack of co-ordination in his signals, I en

tered. After the usual salutations, he called in his secre
tary and said, "You have been to Magdala! How did
you like it? expressed the desire, I would
If you had
have placed my carriage at your disposal." He mar
veled that I had walked so far; but I explained that on
the steamer we had made it a practice to walk twenty
miles each day, in order to keep in good condition. He
took a handful of shells which I had just picked up on
the beach near Magdala, and commented on their beauty
and then inquired if I would like to hear the history of
Mary Magdalene. On being assured that I would, espe
cially from him, he proceeded to relate the history,
which in substance is as follows:
Magdala, the little village I had just visited, was the
birthplace of Mary, known as the Magdalene. She was
a beautiful girl in the habit of coming often to Tiberias,

where at that time many Roman soldiers were located.
Here she attracted the attention of a young Roman
officer, with whom she later lived on terms of intimacy.
In the course of time, this officer was transferred to
Rome, and was advanced to a position of trust in the
affairs of the Roman Empire being well liked and en-

[101]
A Modern Pilgrimage

joying the favor of the Emperor. After his departure
from Tiberias, the well-known events occurred that
changed Mary. She forsook her former life,
the life of
embraced the faith and became an ardent Christian.
In those days, immediately following the crucifixion,
the Jews were being severely persecuted by the Romans,
and Mary was chosen to go to Rome and intercede for
them. On her arrival at Rome, one of the first persons
she met was the young officer who had been her lover
in Tiberias, and who was overjoyed at seeing her think
ing that her great love for him had induced her to make
the long journey. He lost inviting her to
no time in
come with him; but she refused, saying that she was

not the same woman he had known at Tiberias. He
then inquired why she had come to Rome if not to see

him? To which she replied, "To see the Roman Em
peror!" This somewhat astounded the young officer,
who thought she was making sport with him. Finally
all
she convinced him of her sincerity by telling him
that had happened in the Holy Land since his departure,
how she had of her former life and become a
repented
Christian. The young man was so touched by her
for her
recital that he offered to secure an interview
his high posi
with the Emperor. This, on account of
and in few days she entered
tion, he was able to do,
a

the presence of the Emperor, who
met her kindly and
for her. To which she re
inquired what he could do
Somewhat per
plied "For myself, I want nothing."
had sought interview with
plexed, he asked why she
an

and she answered, "I have come to ask you in the
him,

[102]
Interviews With Abdul Bahai

name of the Christians to stop the persecutions of the
Jews in Palestine." The Emperor exclaimed, "I have
been doing this as a favor to the Christians to punish
the Jews for crucifying your Christ !" But Mary assured
him that the Christians did not want this; that their
religion was based on love not revenge.

This idea was so new to the Emperor that he asked
her to explain to him more about this strange new creed,
and in the end agreed to comply with her request. At
the close of the interview, the Emperor ordered her to
be well cared for, and showed her many honors during
her stay in Rome.
"This," said Abdul Baha, in closing, "shows the power
of the Spirit. Here was a poor and ignorant woman,
who in her youth had been a girl of the street and re
spected by no one, but whose life had been transformed
and illumined by the Spirit. From a lowly station she
had been elevated by the power of the Spirit, until she
was received and honored by an Emperor. Other things
pass away, but the power of the Spirit is sure and
eternal !"
His talk the following day was on the folly of devot
ing one's life simply to the accumulation of money. As
an illustration he cited an incident that occurred during

his visit to New York City in 1912:
A noted banker had been making a collection of rare
Persian and Oriental manuscripts and invited Abdul
Baha to come at a certain hour and give him an opinion
as to whether or not they were genuine. At the ap
time he was conducted to the banker's library
pointed

[103]
A Modem Pilgrimage

and soon after his arrival was informed by a messenger
that his host was detained, but would arrive presently.
After some time, a second messenger arrived, expressing
his regrets that an urgent business meeting had prevented
the banker from arriving on time, but that he would
come very Then Abdul Baha said that he was
soon.

sorry he could not remain longer, as he, too, was a
busy man.
"Thus," he said, "a man who is spending his time
trying to amass great riches, is not a free man, but is a
slave to his wealth. After all, if wealth was the prin
cipal thing, then Christ would have devoted His life
to money-getting, as He had a brain undoubtedly equal
to the task; but He realized that other things are of
more consequence, and that the things of the Spirit are

the only ones that are eternal."
In our final interview the next morning, he spoke of
the pleasure our visit had given him. He wished us
success in our work and promised to pray for us in the
with
silent hours of the night. He urged us to go forth
of
renewed courage, and a determination to live a life
of color, race
service; to be kind to everyone regardless
or condition; to be "a cause
of healing for every sick

one, a comforter for every sorrowful one, a pleasant
for every
water forevery one, a heavenly table
thirsty
to everyone who yearns for
hungry one, and a herald
the Kingdom of God."

[104]

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