# Observations of a Baha'i Traveller, 1908

*Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-20 — 1 clipping.*

---

> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Charles Mason Remey, Observations of a Baha'i Traveller, 1908, bahai-library.com.
> ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
> 
> OBSERVATIONS
> OF A
> 
> BAHAI TRAVELLER
> 1908
> 
> BY
> CHARLES MASON REMEY
> 
> SECOND EDITION
> PUBLlSHBD
> November,
> 1914
> CoPY:aIGBT 1915
> By CRARI,ES MASON REMEY
> ABDUJ:,--.BAHA
> PREFACE.
> 
> Acting upon the suggestion of Abdul-Baha, I
> wrote this account of travels made among some
> Bahais of 1;he Orient during the summer of 1908,
> the first edition of which was published in pam-
> phlet form the year following my tour.
> Last month I again had the blessing of a visit
> with Abdul-Baha who was then upon Mount
> Carmel in Syria. While with him I sought his
> counsel regarding the advisability of this second
> edition, the first one having been practically ex-
> hausted. He advised republication-hence this
> volume, the material of which is substantially
> the same as that of the former edition, save that
> a brief historical sketch of the founders of the
> movement has been added for the benefit of
> those who may not be familiar with the cause.
> Through this narrative of travel, I hope to
> share with the reader some of that faith in things
> divine, and that spirit of brotherly love which
> one receives so bounteously through contact
> with Abdul-Baha and association with those
> who have been touched by the spirit of the cause
> which he represents.
> C. M. R.,
> 28 November, 1914.           Washington, D. C.
> HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE
> FOUNDERS OF THE BAHAI
> MOVEMENT.
> 
> On May 23, 1844, there appeared in Shiraz,
> Persia, a young man, Ali Mohammed by name,
> who declared himself to be The Bab,* the fore-
> runner of "Him Whom God would Manifest,"
> a great teacher who was soon to appear with
> manifest signs of divine power and strength,
> through whose teachings the divine unity of
> mankind would be established.
> The Bab was immediately met by great oppo-
> sition on the part of the Mussulman clergy, and
> at their instigation was placed under military
> surveillance. In. spite of being thus hampered
> He continued teaching, exhorting the people to
> holiness and sanctity of living, in order that they
> might be fitted to meet the Promised One,
> shortly to appear, and to become as mirrors re-
> fleeting His spiritual perfection.
> Thus the first two years of The Bab's ministry
> passed, at the end of which time He was seized,
> by the order of the clerical authorities, and
> thrust into prison. His imprisonment lasted four
> ~he Ambic word for   door or gate.
> á6                       OBSERVATIONS OF
> years, during which time He taught His follow-
> ers through letters and epistles. This was fol-
> lowed by a trial in which The Bab was con-/
> demned to death upon the charge of heresy. He,
> with one of His followers, suffered martyrdom
> in the cause of truth in the city of Tabriz, Per-
> sia, on July 9, 1851.
> The mission of The Bab being that of precur-
> sor of "Him Whom God would Manifest," the in-
> stitutions and ordinances which He established
> were for the time being only. With the appear-
> ance of the Promised One, His followers (the
> Babis), were commanded to tum their faces un-
> to Him, when He, who was to come, would es-
> tablish His cause which would bring spiritual
> peace and harmony upon earth.
> The Bab was not alone in being persecuted by
> the Mohammedans; with His martyrdom came
> upon His followers troubles of the most dire na-
> ture. Over twenty thousands of these willingly
> gave up their property, families, and lives, rather
> than deny and recant their faith. These perse-
> cutions are by no means a thing of the past, for
> in Persia, as late as 1901, there were one hun-
> dred and seventy-nine martyrs at one time in the
> cities of Yazd and Esphahan.
> A BAHAT TRAYELLER                               7
> During the days of The Bab's ministry, while
> His cause was being promulgated by His fol-
> lowers throughout Persia, there were many be-
> lievers who never met with Him in person.
> Among these was Baha'o'llah, a young man of
> noble family, who warmly espoused The Bab's
> cause, publicly upholding and teaching it in Te-
> heran.
> In 1852, the year following The Bab's mar-
> tyrdom, when the persecution of the Babis was
> at its height, Baha'o'llah, with others of the new
> faith, was imprisoned in Teheran, and later on
> with a number of Babis was sent in exile to
> Baghdad in Irak.
> During the exile in Baghdad, Baha'o'llah,
> through His teachings and spiritual insight,
> gradually brought c~ess and assurance to
> the followers. As the movement gained strength
> the local clerical authorities began to fear His
> influence. This led to an arrangement made by
> which Baha'o'llah, with the band of believers,
> was ordered to a more distant exile in Constanti-
> nople. In April, 1882, on the eve of His de-
> parture from Irak, Baha'o'llah declared Himself
> to a few chosen ones amongst the followers to
> 8                        OBSERV.A.TIONS OF
> be The One Whose coming The Bab had fore-
> told, "He Whom God would Manifest."
> From Constantinople tne exiles were sent to
> Adrianople, where they remained until 1888,
> when they were finally sent to the fortified town
> of Akka (Acre), a penal colony on the Mediter-
> ranean just north of Mt. Carmel in Syria.
> Here in the land of Carmel, where "the com-
> ing," in this latter day has been foretold,
> Baha'o'llah lived and taught; many traveled
> from great distances to receive instructions from
> Him, while others received teaching through
> His writings.
> Thus it will be seen that with the coming of
> Baha'o'llah, the mission and teachings of The
> Bab were fu1fi11ed and completed, so from that
> time on the movement became known as the
> Bahai Movement, and the believers became
> known as Bahais. In the Spring of 1892, the
> mission of Baha'o'llah being finished, He passed
> quietly from this world. During His ministry
> His cause was not explained hor established in
> the world in general. To this end Baha'o'llah,
> in His testament, as well as in various parts of
> His teachings, commanded His followers upon
> His departure to turn thek faces toward His eld-
> A BAHAT TRAVELLER                              9
> est son, Abdul-Baha, wh9m He had chosen
> as their spiritual guide:"""The Center of His
> Covenant" to the people of the world, the ex-
> pounder of His teachings, the one who would
> establish His cause in the world, the one upon
> whose shoulders His mantle would faIl.
> Abdul-Baha was born in Teheran, in Per-
> sia, on the 23d day of May, 1844, the day upon
> which The Bab began His teaching. During all
> the trials and vicissitudes of the mission of
> Baha'o'llah, His son, Abdul-Baha, was at His
> right hand promulgating His cause and serv-
> ing His followers. He was the first of all to
> recognize Baha'o'llah as The Promised One; ac-
> cordingly from childhood Abdul-Baha was des-
> tined to become the center of the movement.
> ABDUL-BAHA makes but one claim for him-
> self as to his spiritual station, that of SERVICE
> in the path of God. He signs himself, "Abdul-
> Baha Abbas," which being translated is "Abbas,
> the Servant of -God." Abdul-Baha is acknowl-
> edged by all of the Bahais as their spiritual
> leader, and the one to be emulated in the teach-
> ing of this great faith in the world. He, through
> his example and service to humanity, is bring-
> ing the sPiritual life of Baha' o'llah within the
> 10                       OBSERVATIONS OF
> reach of the Bahais. He is the first fruit of the
> cause of Baha'o'llah in the world, and he is the
> center from which the light of interpretation of
> the Bahai Cause is now being radiated to all the
> people of the world; therefore, he, in his mis-
> sion, lives and exemplifies his title of "The Cen-
> ter of The Covenant."
> ~ BAHAI TRAVELLER                                11
> INTRODUCTION.
> 
> Asia, the continent from which the Caucasian
> peoples swept westward to rule the world, has in
> like manner been the land from whence has come
> spiritual sustenance for mankind-his religion.
> In her mountains, the prophets communed with
> God and revealed His life-giving Word; and
> from her shores their followers embarked to
> carry the messages of truth to the nations of the
> West.
> Civilization is the outward expression of the
> inner or spiritUal condition of a people. The
> civilization of the West- is in reality the fruit of
> the religion, which it has received from the East.
> The Orient is the mother, who has sent forth a
> man child, which is the Occident. Now that
> mother has grown old. She has been plundered
> and pillaged by her offspring of the West, and is
> helpless. The time is at hand for the Occident
> to go to her help, and in the spirit of love serve
> her and lift her from her present condition. By
> so doing the West will gain abundantly-gain
> through giving as well as receiving, for the
> Orient has much to give to the West.
> As with woman, the strength of the Orient
> 12                       OBSERVATIONS OF
> manifests itself through those soul characteris-
> tics that are subjective rather than objective;
> while, on the other hand, as with man, the
> strength of the Occident manifests itself through
> those soul characteristics that are objective rath-
> er than subjective.
> The man who seeks the masculine virtues in
> woman is quite as sure to be disappointed as is
> the Occidental who visits the Orient with the ex-
> pectation of there finding people fashioned after
> the standard of the West. The wise man seeks
> in woman those feminine virtues wherein she is
> strong and, by union with her, finds a balance
> which his masculine nature needs. In this man-
> ner is it not necessary that the Occident 'and
> Orient should come together? Where the one
> is strong, the other is weak; and where the one
> is weak, the other is strong. Through this unity
> the highest and most noble in each is forthcom-
> ing.
> Until the present time the western nations
> that have gone into the Orient have gone to con-
> quer. They have succeeded in subjugating the
> people, but they have not won them. They have
> always remained strangers in a strang land.
> There has been no union between them and the
> Oriental peoples and, consequently, but little
> A BAHAI TRAVELLER                                13
> 
> lasting good has come to either from their meet-
> ing.
> Woman may be subjugated by man, but, un-
> less she is won by love, this subjugation narrows
> her character and life and tends to develop every-
> thing save her better and nobler nature. This is
> the condition of the Orient of to-day. While her
> people have a certain respect for the superio:d
> power of the West, nevertheless a great chasm
> separates the two-an abyss which can be
> bridged only through awakening in each a love
> for the other. As man's love-union with woman
> marks an epoch in the development of his char-
> acter and opens before him a field of hitherto
> unknown possibilities, so the uniting of the Occi-
> dent with the Orient will be productive of the
> greatest good to the world.
> Again in these latter days another spiritual
> message is coming to the world from the Orient
> through the Bahai Movement, the rise and early
> growth of which in many respects resembles that
> of primitive Christianity.
> The object of this movement is the religious
> unity of all peoples. It offers to the world a
> spiritual teaching which builds upon the teach..
> ings of the religions of 'the past and present, ful-
> 14                        OBSERVATIONS OF
> filling their hopes and prophecies, and uniting all
> peoples, both East and West, in the spirit ofl
> God's Kingdom upon earth.
> This cause has come into the world in order
> to establish peace-the oneness of all humaiuty
> -through implanting in the hearts of men the
> true and vital spirit of the religions of the past.
> It comes to perfect and to fulfil-not to destroy.
> It confirms one's faith in his own religion and
> makes him firm in the reality thereof, and it
> leads him to the realization that all men are his
> brothers and that the Kingdom of Heaven is
> now actually with us here upon earth, which is
> the one great truth and the one great theme of
> all true religion.
> All religions teach the coming of spiritual one-
> ness and harmony on earth, and in the hol~
> books of each are the promises of the coming of
> a great teacher or Divine Manifestation Who is
> to appear in the latter .days and establish this
> divine order of things in the world. In this way
> does the coming of the Bahai teachers fulfil the
> prophecies of the past, while the spirit of broth-
> erhood and love engendered by this cause is
> uniting thousands of Christians, Jews, Moslems,
> A BAHAI TRAYELLER                              15
> Hindus, Buddhists, Zoroastrians and others in
> the spirit of the oneness of humanity.
> This movement had its birth in the East and
> like the other phases of the one truth, which was
> revealed by all the prophets, it has worked its
> way westward until now its adherents encircle
> the earth. Under its invigorating spiritual pow-
> er, its followers in the Orient are awakening to
> and seeking the advantages of western civiliza-
> tion and are helping conditions there by minis-
> tering physically, morally and spiritually to the
> people. about them; while in the Occident, the
> same force is giving people calmness, assurance,
> and poise of soul, which the strenuousness of
> western life has all but destroyed.
> Under the guidance of its three inspired lead-
> ers, The Bab, who was the forerunner and the
> First Point of this revelation, Baha'o'llah, who
> was the revealer of The Word, and Abdul-Baha,
> who is the expounder of The Word, the Bahai
> Movement is breaking down the barriers be-
> tween the various religious systems and, through
> its vital divine power, is uniting all human ele-
> ments in one great universal brotherhood that is
> destined to grow and expand until it:fills the
> world. This is that which was foretold by the
> 16                       OBSERVATIONS OF
> prophets and seers of the past. It is the estab-
> lishment of God's Kingdom among men, and it
> is the nucleus from which will evolve the great
> universal or world civilization which will be-
> come realized as peoples of all the nations, races
> and religions become spiritually and materially
> united.
> A BAH.A.I TRA.VELLER                   17
> 
> •
> 
> I... ;"
> •
> •       .,
> \.
> ..:/           •
> •
> I.o.
> 
> •.
> •
> •.•
> ,~:
> ..
> (
> .'
> ...•••.
> o.
> 
> •
> •..•                           •..
> •
> o.
> •
> ...
> !l
> e> •
> ~~   •.
> .
> •.
> o.
> •
> o.
> ):1-
> 
> •                        0   ....
> o.
> •..
> •..
> ~Q
> !!e~,
> E:::>
> ..•••....
> .,•..
> 
> •...                         ~
> 
> •..
> •..                                •..
> M
> 
> •                                    •.
> •..                                 •..
> o.
> 
> •                                   •
> 
> I
> •
> I
> •
> 18                       OBSERVATIONS OF
> NARRATIVE.
> 
> For some time prior to leaving America for
> the East, in April, 1908, I had been in corre-
> spondence with an American friend and co-
> worker in the Bahai Cause, in the hope that we
> would be able to arrange to make together a trip
> into Turkestan and Persia. It was not, however,
> until our meeting in London early in the follow-
> ing month that our plan of travel was finally
> mapped out and decided upon.
> My friend had, for several years, been engaged
> in the Bahai work in London and was, at that
> moment, unable to leave England, so it was ar-
> ranged that we should meet in Vienna about
> three weeks later, from whence we planned to
> travel eastward. His route to Vienna lay
> through Brussels and Stuttgart, while mine was
> via Paris, Stuttgart and Munich, which places
> are all Bahai centers.
> I must not omit a paragraph regarding the
> Bahai work now being' carried on in Stuttgart.
> Eight months previous to the visit of which I
> write I spent a few days there where then was
> but a handful of Bahais. This time, however, I
> found an organized assembly, with many people
> A BAHAI TEAYELLER                              19
> busily engaged in serving the cause by translat-
> ing and publishing Bahai literature, as well as by
> organizing meetings for teaching and study and
> like work. One very enthusiastic believer was
> erecting a building in which he was making pro-
> vision for an assembly room, which, when com-
> pleted, would be a home and a center for the
> Bahais. In many ways I saw the firmness with
> which these friends had grasped the teachings
> and were working out its principles. During the
> intervening eight months, Miss Alma Knobloch
> of Washington had been teaching in Stuttgart,
> and the fruits of her efforts and those of herl
> friends were easily seen in the work of that as-
> sembly. When the organs of the body are all
> working and performing each its own function,
> then the body is vigorous and strong. So it is
> with an assembly of friends in which each is do-
> ing its own part. As individuals they do not
> necessarily attract much attention, yet the power
> of the assembly as a whole is strongly felt.
> 
> On the eve of our planned departure from
> Vienna, a tablet (letter) was received from Ab-
> dul-Baha, which opened the way for me to visit
> 20                       OBSERVATIONS OF
> Akka on my way out to the East. Although:r
> had hoped to be able to make this visit, yet, on
> account of governmental troubles then rife
> throughout Turkish domains, I had no anticipa-
> tion of realizing my desire. Despite the abrupt
> change in our plans, everything arranged itself
> quite well. My going to Syria gave my friend
> a much desired opportunity to visit a brother
> Bahai in Constantinople. Traveling leisurely by
> steamer down the" Danube and through the
> Black Sea he reached Constantinople and com-
> pleted a visit there of three weeks by the time I
> joined him. In the mean time my route took me
> the length of Italy, through Greece and down in-
> to Egypt before I reached Syria.
> 
> I must pause a moment to write of some
> friends whom I met in Florence, friends who are
> spiritual seekers and who received me with open
> arms, although I had only known them through
> correspondence. Sig. Arturo Reghini, one of the
> founders, and the leading spirit of the Biblioteca
> Filosofica, I) Piazzale Donate1lo, Florence, had,
> during the year past, delivered a course of lec-
> tures upon the Bahai Movement. These were
> .oj
> JlQ
> ~
> -<
> r=.
> 
> >"
> E-<
> ()
> r.:r
> ==
> E-<
> Co<
> 
> ==
> ...:
> p::
> 0..
> 0..
> -<
> ..            j:!
> Z
> .,.-t~
> -<~
> r.:r
> ==
> E-<
> A B.AHAI TRAVELLER                             21
> attended by thinking people who are awake to
> the present day spiritual conditions and necessi-
> ties, and to many of these the Bahai Movement
> appealed strongly. That which was most no-
> ticeable and attractive in this philosophical cen-
> ter was the kindly spirit which the people bore
> towards all religious movements, and this was
> truly Bahai in character.
> 
> After brief meetings with the Bahais in Alex-
> andria and Port Said, I took steamer from the
> latter port to Haifa, where I landed after a voy-
> age of twenty-four hours. Many Bahai pilgrims
> to the Holy Land have described Haifa and
> Mount Carmel, yet each takes away with him
> impressions impossible to put into words. This
> mountain, in which lived the prophet Elijah, and
> from Old Testament days considered the Lord's
> own ground, has, during the past half century,
> again been the center of renewed spiritual activ-
> ities, the glad tidings of which are now being
> heralded the world around.
> The, foreshadowing of this latter-day move-
> ment we see in the expectant veneration with
> which this spot is held by Christians, JeWs, and
> 22                        OBSERVATIONS OF
> Moslems. All three reverence its holy places,
> for in the sacred writings of each are many
> prophecies regarding the triumphal coming of
> the Messiah, and of the transformation of this
> land and her people from sterility and poverty
> to fertility and power. Here are several relig-
> ious communities, monasteries and convents, as
> well as the German Temple Colony situated on
> the lower slope of the mountain. This latter
> was founded in the sixties under a religious en-
> thusiasm which had its birth in Wiirtemberg.
> Off to the north of Mount Carmel, across the
> Bay of Haifa, is the town of Akka. Built on a
> rock, surrounded on three sides by the sea, the
> fourth by a moat and the land, she appears to
> fioat on the water. From without, her white
> fortifications, domes, and turrets, beneath a bril-
> liant sun, with their high lights and black shad-
> ows, are strikingly symbolic of the spiritual con-
> ditions of light and darkness which have existed
> within those prison walls. Here, for years, un-
> der conditions almost too dreadful to be de-
> scribed, was confined the world's great teacher,
> Baha'o'llah. He, with about seventy followers,
> storm-tossed exiles, after years of persecution
> for His faith, was finally brought in captivity to
> A BAnAl TRAVELLER                              23
> the dungeon of Akka, within whose darkened re-
> cesses languished many a political prisoner, thief
> and murderer.
> It is amid the particles of matter, torn by the
> forces of the elements from the mountain side
> and carried down into the valley, that seeds find
> root, grow and bring forth their fruits. In like
> manner do we see, in the spiritual history of the
> world, that, amid the ruin brought about by man,
> spirituality has had its growth and fruition-
> out of the 'blackest darkness has come the most
> brilliant light. This is strikingly brought to one
> while in Akka. That Akka, the scene of the
> bloodiest combats of the Crusades and, in more
> modern times, of the Napoleonic war in Syria,
> many times leveled to the ground and finally
> a penal colony under the late despotic govern-
> ment of Turkey-that this should be the place
> from which should go forth to the world the
> great spiritual message of peace, uniting men
> of all nations and races in brotherly love-is, in-
> deed, in accordance with the marvelous work-
> ings of God as we view them in the past and.
> present.
> During the winter previous to the visit of
> which I write, it was generally known amongst
> 24                        OBSERVATIONS OF
> the Bahais that Abdul-Baha and the friends in
> Akka were in trouble, while but few, if any, of
> us in the West realized how serious was the con-
> dition there. The cause of this was the general
> corruption of the old regime of Turkish govern-
> ment, that reached its climax just before the
> declaration of a constitutional form of govern-
> ment in Constantinople, which took place but a
> few weeks after my visit of which I now write.
> The Bahais in and about Akka were exiles in a
> foreign land and, being without temporal power
> or protection, were considered as legitimate
> plunder by certain officials then in power. Ab-
> dul-Baha told me that he had "received threaten-
> ing messages from a very high official, tempor-
> ally over him, to which he had replied, saying
> that he was Abdul-Baha (the servant of God),
> that were that official to exalt him, he would still
> be Abdul-Baha, were he to oppress him he would
> still be Abdul-Baha, and were he to kill him,
> yet would his station ever be the same, Abdul-
> Baha.
> During the ,five days I waited in Haifa, be-
> fore it was possible to proceed to Akka, the
> troublous condition was to some extent amel-
> iorated by the liberating from the prison of
> A BAHAI 'TRAVELLER                             25
> Akka of four recent converts to the faith, who
> had, for several months, been confined there be-
> cause of their allegiance to the cause. About
> this time a special guard placed before the house
> of Abdul-Baha to watch its inmates, was by or-
> der of the governor removed, so matters began
> to take on a less troubled aspect.
> Notwithstanding these changes for the better,
> I had to be very careful in entering and leaving
> the city. Abdul-Baha's house being watched by
> spies, I did not go there, but spent the two dayS
> and two nights of my visit within the confines
> of the house of Aga Seyed Taghi Afnan, the
> venerable Bahai under whose direction the ar-
> rangements for the building of the Mashrak-El-
> Azcar in Eshkhabad were made and executed.
> Here Abdul-Baha came to see me twice each
> day. Despite the agitated conditions-for his
> followers had been almost panic-stricken-Ab-
> dul-Baha was calm and evidently very happy.
> The strain of many years of trouble had left its
> imprint upon the physical man, but his soul, so
> emancipated, was brimming over with the love
> and joy of the Lord.
> I could not help comparing this visit to Abdul-
> Baha with the first visit I, together with several
> 26                       OBSERVATIONS OF
> believers, !tad with him, late in the winter of
> 1901, at which time he was comparatively free
> from worldly troubles, being allowed by the
> governor of Akka to reside temporarily in Haifa.
> Our party of nine American and European pil-
> grims were in his house. Then the approach of
> a Bahai was an easy, matter: we went about the
> town mingling freely with people, and meeting
> them socially as one would have done in any
> place. But as I recall those days I remembetf
> that our leader often looked distressed. Then
> the cause in the West was not united spirit-
> ually as it is now. While many were attracted
> and the movement was growing, yet the believ-
> ers were in danger. They were as young trees
> enveloped by the blast of the winter's gale. This
> Abdul-Baha knew and realized while we did not,
> and, notwithstanding his own ease, it weighed
> upon him. Now all was reversed. He was in
> trouble, but those over whom he had so dili-
> gently watched and prayed had, through his la-
> bor and sacrifices, grown strong in spirit and
> were uniting in serving humanity as he by his
> example had taught them to do. Now the unity
> and the steadfastness of the Bahais being accom-
> plished, his own present troubles were as naught.
> A BAHAI TRAVELLER                                          27
> _ Abdul-Baha spoke at some length regarding
> the uniting of the people of the West with those
> of the East-their spiritual unity-which is
> bringing about the regeneration of mankind.
> Now we have in the world of man all the ele-
> ments for the progress of the people save the
> one necessary element-the element of love by
> which all must be brought together and assimi-
> lated into one. The heart of the world is tired
> and sick because it needs the balm of the love
> of God. This is what Baha'o'llah brought into
> the world-the power of uniting all in one-and
> this is what Abdul-Baha, by his life and teaching,
> is exemplifying and literally infusing into souls.
> The home of the Afnan* in Akka, where I was
> entertained, was a house in which Baha'o'llah
> had lived for some years. Like many Syrian
> houses, the lower story with its walls several
> feet in thickness and high, massive, vaulted ceil-
> ings, was used for mercantile purposes, while the
> upper floor, reached from the street by a heavily
> barred door, court and steep stone staircase, was
> the dwelling. This house has been purchased by
> an American Bahai (a lady who has spent much
> time in Akka), that, on account of its associa-
> -Afnan ia the name applied to the relatives of The Bab.
> 28                       OBSERVATIONS OF
> tions, it may always remain in Bahai hands.
> One room, surrounded by loggias overlooking
> the sea, was that which had been occupied by
> Baha'o'llah, while a smaller one next to it, for-
> merly occupied by Abdul-Baha, was the one in
> which I was lodged. This room, measuring per-
> haps twelve by sixteen feet, with the exception
> of the ceiling-the woodwork of which was
> beamed and panelled and painted in various col-
> ors-was devoid of ornamentation.. The walls
> were washed with lime into which had been in-
> serted sufficient blueing to take away the dis-
> agreeable glare of a large white wall surface.
> Its furnishings consisted of a straw matting on
> the :Boor, with a divan along one side of the
> room which was covered with a rug; a small tea
> table about eighteen inches square, standing
> about one foot above the :Boor, completed the
> necessary fitting of an oriental apartment. In
> the center of the house was a general reception
> and dining room containing a table and chairs.
> When more people came into my room than
> could be accommodated upon the divan, chairs
> were brought and then taken out when needed
> elsewhere. Simplicity characterizes every pqase
> of oriental life, and if one enters into that life
> A BAHAI TRAYELLER                             29
> and adapts himself to the customs he will not
> find hUnself uncomfortable, for surely many of
> its customs are more adapted to the conditions
> there than would be transplanted westernisms.
> As bedtime approached, I began mentally to
> make my arrangements for the night expecting
> to sleep upon the divan. However, as I was
> about to put this plan into effect, some of the
> friends appeared at the door with bundles of
> bedding which they proceeded to arrange in the
> following manner: A pashe-band (literally, mos-
> quito box) was hung in the center of the cham-
> ber and sustained in place by cords to the four
> comers of the room. This contrivance is about
> six feet long by five in width and height. It is
> made of loosely woven cloth which admits the
> passage of air. In one end is an opening encir-
> cled by a draw-string; through this aperture the
> mattress and bedding are first inserted, then the
> sleeper crawls in, drawing the string after him.
> Inconvenient as this may seem, it is most com-
> fortable and is absolute proof against ver:min-
> including some of the larger and more danger-
> ous species, such as scorpiODS and spiders, with
> which those eastern countries abound, the stings
> of which are always serious and sometimes fatal.
> 30                       OBSERVATIONS OF
> When the morning and the hour came for me
> to leave Akka, I was quite unconscious of it, be-
> ing still lost in the realms of sleep. The pre-
> vious day had been as strenuous a one as
> oriental conditions could :have afforded; from
> five o'clock in the morning until eleven o'clock
> at night, almost without a break, I was convers-
> ing with various Believers, who had come to see
> me, so that when bedtime came I was tired out.
> Abdul-Baha came to say good-bye to me about
> half-past seven in the morning but, finding me
> still sleeping, would not allow me to be awak-
> ened, but stood guard at the door, walking up
> and down the narrow corridor. A half hour
> passed thus, when he was called out on the log-
> gia which gave one of the Persian friends the
> watched-for opportunity to enter the room and
> give me a necessarily vigorous poking through
> the pashe-band, which aroused me. A half hour
> later I had received Abdul-Baha's fatherly em-
> brace and parting blessing and, together willi
> one of the oriental Bahais, was being driven
> through the canyon-like streets of Akka on the
> way to Haifa.
> Abdul-Baha is anxious that in every possible
> way the believers in the East and West should
> A BAHAI TRAYELLER                            31
> unite; that communicatio;t should increase and
> that an interchange of ideas should ensue in or-
> der that all may profit thereby and be helped.
> Practically the only instruction which he gave
> me regarding my trip to Persia and Turkestan
> was that I should mingle freely with the Bahais
> and meet them on their own ground and in their
> own manner with a brother's embrace.
> All who know Abdul-Baha love him devotedly,
> whether or not they be acquainted with the
> tenets of his teaching (on account of the op-
> preSsion of the Bahais in the Holy Land and in
> the other Turkish countries until the present
> time practically no teaching has been done in
> those lands). One instance of this came to my
> immediate notice in the following way. Find-
> ing upon my return to Haifa from Akka that I
> had two days to wait for a steamer to take me
> on my journey, a young Persian Bahai who had
> been my ~onstant companion and interpreter
> while. in those parts, set out with me on an ex-
> cursion to Nazareth. A drive of several.hours
> across the plain of Kishon brought us to the
> mountains, high up in the valley of which is
> nestled the little town of Nazareth, the older
> 32                      OBSERVATIONS OF
> parts of which have probably changed but little
> since the days of the Saviour, Jesus.
> During the drive, my companion related sev-
> eral incidents of Bahai interest in connection
> with the places we were passing. He spoke in
> particular of one Sheikh Youseft', a man of
> wealth in lands and cattle, who formerly had
> lived in those parts and who, during the days
> when Baha' o'llah was there an exile, befriended
> and served Him in many ways. On arriving in
> Nazareth, we betook ourselves to call on the
> governor of the town, who was a son-in-law of
> the late sheikh. A very steep, narrow and dirty
> street :Banked by high walls, brought us to the
> door of theágovernor's house which from with-
> out was unattractive enough. Upon entering,
> however, we found ourselves in a large court
> through which we were conducted to the prin-
> cipal reception room of the house, spacious, and
> beautifully furnished, the windows of which
> looked out over the receding terraced roofs of
> the neighboring houses, down the valley and on
> to the plain below. We were most graciously
> received by the governor. He spoke many
> times of his deep esteem and love for Abdul-
> Baha and, though he knew but little about
> A BAHAT TRAVELLER                             33
> America and even less about the Bahai teaching,
> yet he was not at all surprised that Abdul-
> Baha should have so many friends in the far
> West, nor that these friends- should travel over
> land and sea to spend ofttimes but a few hours
> with him. A servant was placed at- our disposal
> to conduct us about the town to visit the many
> places of religious interest. Mterwards we vis-
> ited the mausoleum of the late Sheikh Y ouseff,
> a beautiful marble structure, beneath the dome
> of which rested the sarcophagus of white marble
> overlaid with gold. Later, when we arrived at
> our hotel, we found a basket of fruit from the
> governor, and in the evening he came to return
> our call, and again, the next morning before our
> departure, sent one of his men in case we might
> need some service. These kindnesses to us, be-
> cause we were friends of Abdul-Baha, spoke
> strongly of the esteem in which he is held by
> those outside of his following.
> 
> Embarking from Haifa in the evening, I landed
> the fonowing morning shortly after sunrise in
> Beirut, the chief seaport of Syria, where I found
> a very hearty welcome at the hands of friends.
> 34                       OBSERVATIONS OF
> The kindness of one of these brothers was quite
> touching. He was a Jewish Bahai, originally
> from Hamadan, Persia, where there is a very
> large Israelitish following. He told me that six-
> teen years before he had wanted to go to Amer-
> ica to teach the cause, but on account of not
> knowing the language, and for want of means,
> he had not been able to carry out his desire;
> nevertheless he had been constant in his prayers
> for the field of work in the West. Later on other
> teachers went to America and accomplished the
> work he had longed to do. How much work he
> had really done for America through prayer and
> earnest desire I could only judge from the love
> he had for the Bahais in the far West, of which
> I was the undeserving recipient The signifi-
> cance of such a meeting is not understood at the
> time, but, after parting with such a friend, a
> touch of the spirit of brotherhood remains with
> one and causes one to realize the virtue of com-
> ing into contact with virtue.
> Beirut is an important educational center and
> a number of Bahai young men are there as stu:
> dents. That night a meeting was held, at-
> tended mostly by these young believers, after
> which several of us supped together and re-
> A RAHAT TRAVELLER                               35
> paired to the home of a Persian Bahai, formerly
> of Baghdad, where the night was spent. The
> city proper is built on a promontory projecting
> into the sea behind which rise abruptly the ver-
> dure-clad Lebanon Mountains whose summits
> are usually lost to view in the clouds. Our
> friend's house stood on a high point of land and
> from its terraced roof we had a superb view of
> the moonlit sea, the glittering shore of which
> stretched off to the south past the ancient towns
> of Tyre and Sidon and on toward the prison city
> of Akka, while, behind us, towered Lebanon, the
> twinkling lights of its many villas and villages
> giving a unique beauty to the scene.
> Those who visit the Orient are always im-
> pressed by the brilliancy of its nights. Even the
> starlight there seems as brilliant as does the
> moonlight in more northern climes. To use an
> oriental expression, I will always have with me
> the "fragrance" of the nights spent on that roof-
> top during various visits to Beirut. Our host
> is now 81,1 old man. Since the days of The First
> Point (The Bab) he has been an ardent and
> faithful believer and has spent his life in serving
> the cause. Now his three sons are continuing
> his work and it is they who receive and serve
> 36                        OBSERVA'PIONS OF
> the friends from the East and West as they pass
> through Beirut.
> There is a poetry in oriental hospitality, which
> seems wanting in the western. Everything is
> so spontaneous and simple. Conversation with
> them is an- art. Their narratives ramble along,
> always aiming, though indirectly, at a fixed
> point which is at first obscure, but which in the
> end they bring out with the accumulated force
> of many pictures and much action. Often the
> movement is not sufficiently accelerated to please
> OUl' western craving for direct results-to see
> the end at the beginning-but nevertheless
> through it all runs a certain poetic strain, which
> -is the spirit they wish to impart. 'This leaves
> the listener with a peculiar sense of being an
> actual part of that which is being related and he
> carries away with him a soul impression as well
> as the letter of the narrative. Imagine being on
> the roof.top of the house of our friend, the mer-
> chant' of Baghdad, seated about a boiling samo-
> var, sipping tea from small glass cups, while one
> of the sons relates events which transpired in
> the early days of the cause-those days when,
> even, to be suspected of being a believer was
> sufficient to have one's possessions confiscated
> AGA SEYED TAGHI AFNAN AND TWO OF HIS SONS.
> A BAHAI TRAYELLER                              37
> and possibly one's life forfeited. Under this ter-
> rible tyranny many of our people migrated from
> their homes to foreign parts, thus spreading the
> message far and wide. Such was the case of this
> family of Baghdad, who, after many troubles
> brought upon them by enemies of the faith, are
> now serving in a foreign land under mo:re pacific
> conditions than befo~e. It was in this house in
> Beirut that the friends sought refuge when sev-
> eral of them came overland from Persia in the
> winter with their precious burden, the blessed-
> remains of The First Point, The Bab.
> As is well known, after the martyrdom of The
> Bab in Tabriz His body was cast out into the
> moat which surrounded the city. Then it was
> that there arose a friend who went aBd recov-
> ered the remains, taking them to a place of
> safety and swathing them in tissues of silk. Af-
> terwards they were secreted in one place for a
> time and then in other places known only to the
> faithful, and so many years passed. A few years
> ago, arrangements having been made for the en-
> tombment of The Bah's remains on Mount Car-
> mel, two of the Bahais set out for Persia and,
> returning after a most eventful journey by camel
> across the desert with their holy burden, which
> 38                      OBSERVATIONS OF
> was disguised as a bale of merchandise, reached
> the sea at Beirut, from whence the rest of the
> journey was made by water.
> 
> Though the steamer which I took from Beirut
> to Constantinople was not booked to sail until
> midday, yet in accordance with the oriental cus-
> tom of arriving on board a steamer several hours
> ahead of time, 1 embarked in the early morning,
> several of the friends going in the bark to the
> steamer with me. Each of these arrived at the
> quay with a parting gift in his hand-a steamer
> chair, fruit, sweets, etc., a package of Persian
> insect powder (to the western mind a curious
> gift, but an article which adds much to the per-
> sonal comfort of the traveler in those parts),
> and finally, after the party had left the ship,
> some one (I never knew who) sent me by a boat-
> man a large jar of excellent potable water which
> was far superior to that afforded by the ship.
> 1 mention these details to show the extreme
> kindness of these friends-kindness to one whom
> many of them had not seen before nor probably
> would ever see again. This is indeed the spirit
> I have found manifest among the Bahais every-
> where.                                      I
> A BAHAT TRAVELLER                            39
> The passage from Beirut to Constantinople
> was uneventful, Smyrna, where the ship stopped
> for a few hours, being the only intermediate
> port. The Bahais in Syria had advised me not
> to land my luggage in Constantinople, but to
> continue passage by the same steamer to Odessa
> and from there on to Baku by rail. This was the
> route often taken by returning Bahai pilgrims,
> who dislike having anything more to do with the
> Turkish officials than is absolutely necessary.
> Going ashore at Constantinople early in the
> morning I made my way to the abode of the
> American Bahai where my friend from whom I
> had parted in Vienna was staying. A hearty
> welcome, followed by a hasty meal, preceded our
> embarking, for our ship remained in port only a
> few hours. Until quite recently the oriental and
> occidental Bahais in Constantinople have been
> obliged to avoid meeting together on account of
> making trouble with the government, so during
> his visit there my friend had not been able to
> meet any of the eastern friends.
> A cold and stormy passage of forty-eight hours
> across the Black Sea brought us to the port and
> city of Odessa. Here we took rail for Baku, a
> long ride, but one not devoid of interest. At
> 40                        OBSERVATIONS OF
> first the line layover rolling fields of grain-
> country, which reminded us much of our own
> western prairies-then, as the route turned off
> toward the south and we neared the Caucasus,
> we had splendid views of its rugged and pictur-
> esque mountain ranges towering in the distance
> one above the other. Again changing direction,
> the line.bore off eastward and descended into the
> Caspian basin, where the railroad turns to the
> south following down the western coast to the
> sea, with an expanse of water stretching off to
> the right, the Caucasian Mountains rising
> abruptly on the left.
> In Baku we had little difficulty in finding some
> of our Bahai friends. Fortunately for us, they
> were well known and easy to locate, for we did
> not speak a word of the language of the country.
> Here and 4t some other places in Southern Rus-
> sia, as well as in Russian Turkestan, the Bahai
> movement and its followers are recognized and
> protected by the government. In fact, here we
> found that to be known as Bahais facilitated
> travel, for our people are known to be for peace
> and tranquility and are in no way associated
> with the many revolutionary movements which
> A BAHAI TRAVELLER                                          41
> keep that country most of the time in a state of
> turbulence.
> In Baku we were lodged in the house of a
> Bahai, Ashrafi' Karimoff, who lived only a few
> doors from the building now temporarily used
> as the Mashrak-e1-Azcar.* Quite a large build-
> ing-lot in the heart of the city has been acquired
> for the building of a Mashrak-e1-Azcar. A build-
> ing now standing in one corner of this property,
> besides serving as a place of meeting for the
> Bahais, affords lodging when traveling Bahais
> and their friends are entertained. Here also re-
> sides a Bahai teacher, who, with several other
> followers, serves the cause, thus forming an es-
> tablishment which is the center of Bahai activi-
> ties in that city.
> DUring our stay in Baku, we were entertained
> several times by a Bahai, Aga Mussa Nagie:ff, a
> .man who has extensive oil interests in that sec-
> tion. On the" day following our arrival we went
> with him to inspect his oil wells at Bala Khaneh,
> not far from Baku. After spending some time
> among the wells we were taken to a house
> where a Bahai meeting had been arranged.
> *Mashrak-el-AJrcu _ . Uterall,., "The place of the mem:ioua of
> God."
> 42                       OBSERVATIONS OF
> This meeting was composed chiefly of laboring
> men from the adjacent wells.
> In the West many people are impressed by the
> fact that the Bahai teaching appeals alike to peo-
> ple of culture as well as to those who have not
> had the advantages of education and its respon-
> sibilities. This was even more striking in this
> meeting than any which I ever attended in the
> West. Several western travelers have written
> of the industries of Bala Khaneh and have de-
> scribed the way in which the oil is brought to
> the surface by the workmen, whose scanty cloth-
> ing is saturated with unrefined petroleum. From
> this standpoint their condition is not enviable
> and needs to be improved, but we are permitted
> to see another aspect of their life which might
> astonish people in the West who to-day are
> striving to conciliate capital and labor. To see
> the capitalist and laborer side by side on equal
> terms in spirit in such a meeting as we had shows
> the work of the Bahai cause. Though in out-
> ward affairs there was a distinction between em-
> ployer and employee, there was at the same time
> beneath that a fraternal relation which made
> their interests as one.
> On another occasion we had an interesting
> A BAH.AI TRAYELLER                              43
> 
> meeting with a number of Circassian peasants
> who came into the city from the country to
> greet us. The Circassian is a combination of
> several peoples, which gives him, along with the
> child-like simplicity and gentleness of the Orien-
> tal, a certain almost savage force which is char-
> acteristic of the north. It is ever interesting to
> witness the assimilation of these elements from
> the north, south, east and west by the Bahai
> faith, for wherever it is planted it finds root and
> grows.
> From Baku our course of travel lay eastward
> 'Over the Caspian into Turkestan. The afternoon
> of the evening that we left Baku a largely at-
> tended feast was spread in the Mashrak-el-Az-
> car. Tablets were chanted and my companion
> made an address in Persian which was trans-
> lated for the benefit of those present into the
> language of the country. The meeting was
> brought somewhat abruptly to a close when one
> of the friends hurriedly entered to inform us
> that we had no time to lose in making our
> steamer. In almost less time than it takes to re-
> count it the crowd had poured out into the street,
> where carriages awaited us, and amid good-
> byes, we, with as many others as the several
> 44                      OBSERVATIONS OF
> vehicles would accommodate, were driven off
> rapidly toward the port.
> On the quay and aboard the steamer we were
> met by others, the party growing as it was rein-
> forced by groups of friends from the meeting,
> who arrived at intervals. Little did we think,
> as we stood on the stem of the moving steam-
> er, waving adieu to the crowd on the pier, that
> there would be any annoying results from this
> farewell demonstration.
> Turkestan, which is north of Persia, west of
> China, south of Russia and Siberia, and east
> of the Caspian. Sea, has comparatively recently
> been opened to railroad travel by the Trans-
> Caspian line. The western extremity of this
> railroad is the town of Krasnovodsk, on the
> eastern coast of the Caspian. From here the
> line goes east to Eshkhabad, Merve, Samark-
> hand and Tashkhend; then northward to Oren-
> berg, from whence a line joins it with the
> Trans-Siberian railroad.
> On account of the proximity of Turkestan
> to India the Russians guard that country jeal-
> ously. It is only by special permission that
> any foreigner is allowed to penetrate beyond
> the frontier. Before leaving America I tried
> A BAHAT TRAVELLER                              45
> to inform myself of these matters through the
> Russian embassy in Washington, from which
> I was able to obtain no information at all.
> While in Europe I applied to the American
> ambassador in St. Petersburg, asking him to
> procure for my friend and me the necessary
> permission to travel as tourists in Turkestan.
> In reply to this I was notified by letter and by
> wire that the necessary permission had been
> granted and that while no document was sent
> us, the -officials along the Trans-Caspian route
> had been advised of our coming.
> On the steamer from Baku we met two Ba-
> hais with their families, who were traveling our
> way, so we consolidated into one party. On ar-
> riving at Krasnovodsk the following morning we
> landed and. finding that our train did not leave
> until late in the afternoon, we made ourselves
> comfortable under the shade of some trees in a
> garden adjoining the station. Seated here we
> had lunch and, later on, tea. We were about to
> collect our luggage for boarding the train when
> we were approached by a police officer accom-
> panied by two men who demanded to see our
> papers. This, of course, was no more than trav-
> elers in those Countries expect at any time, so we
> 46                         OBSERVATIONS OF
> were troubled only when told that there was no
> permission for us to travel in those parts and
> that we would be detained there until such had
> been received.
> It was with some degree of consternation that
> we watched the train pulling out with our Per.
> sian friends aboard, and then we turned to sur-
> vey the town about us. It was about as barren a
> place as the imagination could have conceived.
> Hemmed in by the sea against mountains as bar-
> ren as only the salt wastes of the Caspian basin
> can be, the _only verdure being a few trees and
> shrubs which had to be watered with distilled
> sea water-there was no fresh water within
> miles-Krasnovodsk was indeed uninviting for
> an indefinite sojourn such as ours bade fair to be.
> The officer who had jurisdiction over us was
> politeness itself. Even under the most exasper-
> ating circumstances he was all smiles and would
> bow most gallantly with his right hand placed
> over his heart. We were lodged in a hotel where
> .he lived and, though a sharp eye was kept upon
> us, áwe were at liberty to wander about the town
> as we chose.
> As soon as possible we wired to our ambassa-
> dor in St. Petersburg and also to the military
> A BAHAl TRAVELLER                              47
> governor of Tashkhend, under whose governor-
> ship is the government of Western Turkestan,
> asking them to take steps for us to be allowed to
> continue our journey.
> On the third day of our stay, when we were
> beginning to weary of the monotony of waiting,
> the door of our room opened and in walked three
> Bahais from Eshkhabad-Mirza Tagbi Khan,
> Mirza Housein Oskoui and Mirza Fazl'o'llah
> Khan. Before then we had been in telegraphic
> communication with the friends in Eshkhabad,
> and knowing of our plight these three friends had
> come down a run of eighteen hours to Krasno-
> vodsk to share with us the period of waiting.
> They told us that the Bahais in Eshkhabad had
> been advised of our expected arrival in their city
> by dispatch from Baku, and about fifty of them
> came a four-hours' journey down the line to
> meet us. There in a smaIl station house they
> spent the day and night expecting us by every
> train.
> The remainder of our time in Krasnovodsk
> passed comparatively quickly. On the fifth day
> in the afternoon a dispatch came from the mili-
> tary governor of the province granting the
> waited-for permission. It was with much hilar-
> 48                      OBSERVATIONS OF
> ity that we hastily gathered our belongings to-
> gether and, within the hour, were boarding the
> train for Eshkhabad.
> Only after the affair was over did we ascer-
> tain the real cause of our detention. It seems
> that the police in Baku witnessed our departure
> from that city, and imagining from the parting
> demonstration that we might be political agita-
> tors, telegraphed to Krasnovodsk and, though
> we had the necessary permission to travel in
> Transcaspia, it was cancelled by this dispatch.
> Unpleasant as this affair seemed at the time it
> was indeed a very good thing in the end, for the
> people of Krasnovodsk were impressed by the
> fact that two. Bahais were there from America
> and in this way our three oriental friends who
> spoke the language of the country were able to
> do quite a little teaching.
> The route to Eshkhabad was over the desert.
> For the most part of the way we were in sight of
> the Sagir mountains on the south, which here
> form the northern boundary of Persia. On the
> following morning, drawing nearer to this range,
> we began to distinguish, by the streaks of ver-
> dure on the mountain sides, rivulets coming
> down to be absorbed by the thirsty sands of the
> A BAHAT TRAVELLER                               49
> plain. Every few miles could be seen the re-
> mains of ruined cities. In a recent tablet re-
> vealed to the Bahais of the East and of the West
> Abdul-Baha mentions this country in the follow-
> ing terms:
> "For man has two aspects--one the sublimity
> of nature and intellectual qualities, and the other
> the base animality and imperfections of passion.
> "If you travel through the continents and
> countries of the world you will see on one side
> the signs of ruin and destruction, and on the
> other the signs and monuments of civilization
> and construction. As to the ruin and destruc-
> tion, they are the signs of contention and dis-
> cord, of war and battle. But order and construc-
> tion are the results of the virtues of friendliness
> and concord.
> "If one travel in the central desert of Asia he
> will observe how many great and populous cities
> have been ruined. From the Caspian Sea to the
> River Oxus naught is to be seen save forlom and
> deserted prairies and deserts. The Russian Rail-
> Way [the Trans-Caspian R. R.] takes two days
> and two nights to traverse the ruined cities and
> destroyed villages of that desert. There was a
> time when that land was very populous and in
> 50                       OBSERVATIONS OF
> the highest state of civilization and development;
> science and knowledge were widespread, the
> arts and professions established, commerce and
> agriculture were in the utmost state of perfec-
> tion, and civil government and politics well or-
> ganized. Now, all this great region is the habi-
> tation of desolation and shelters only the no-
> madic Turkoman tribes and the wandering
> beasts of prey. The cities of that land, as Ghor-
> gan, Tassa, Abiavard, and Shahrastan, were once
> famous in the world for sciences, knowledge, pro-
> fessions, wonders, wealth, greatness, happiness
> and virtue. Now no voice or murmur is to be
> heard in all that land save the roar of ferocious
> brutes, and naught is to be seen save the wan-
> dering wolves.
> "This ruin and destruction was occasioned by
> the battles and wars between Iran (Persia) and
> Turkan, which had become different in customs
> and religion. Their godless leaders made public
> property of the blood, belongings, and the pri-
> vacy of each other. This is the exposition of one
> instance.
> "Then, when ye travel through the world and
> observe it, ye shall find all constructiveness and
> progressiveness to be signs of friendliness and
> A BAHAT TRAVELLER                              51
> -
> love, and all destructiveness and ruin the results
> of hatred andáenmity."
> Before leaving Krasnovodsk our companions
> had telegraphed ahead to Eshkhabad and various
> intermediate points to announce our coming,
> so at a very early hour the next morning we be-
> gan to be greeted by groups of Bahais gathered
> at the stations along the line. The people aboard
> the train eyed us with no little interest, for it
> was uncommon to say the least to see foreigners
> so received. At two hours or more from Eshk-
> habad we were met by a delegation of believers
> from that city, who brought to us the greeting
> of their assembly.
> The climax was reached when the train finally
> pulled into the station at Eshkhabad, where three
> hUtldred and more of the friends awaited us. As
> we stood on the platform of the car looking down
> into a sea of upturned faces, with many hands
> stretched out towards us, a wave of sympathy
> came over me which was difficult to stand up
> against; but then was no time to break down,
> so with an effort I collected myself and stepped
> down into the crowd. Before I could realize it,
> I found myself hurried through the station with
> several hands upon each of my arms. Outside
> 52                       OBSERVATIONS OF
> many carriages were in waiting, and without the
> loss of a moment we were being driven at a
> seemingly dangerous rate of speed toward the
> Mashrak-el-Azcar.
> The Mashrak-el-Azcar of Eshkhabad-the
> largest structure of its kind so far erected-
> stands in about the center of the city, with its
> roof and dome rising high above the surround-
> ing houses and trees. It is visible for miles over
> the plain as the traveler approaches the city, and
> seems only more imposing than from afar when
> one finds himself within its enclosure. Here, in
> the lower loggia which surrounds the building,
> we were greeted individually by several hundred
> Bahals. After tea and cooling drinks had been
> served and greetings exchanged, everything
> quieted down while prayers were chanted. Dur-
> ing this service all present sat in a respectful
> attitude, while one of the friends, the possessor
> of a rich and melodious voice, lifted it in chants
> of praise and thanksgiving. We were indeed
> thankful to have attained the blessing of this
> meeting.
> The chanting over, the meeting broke up and
> we were then taken around the temple on a tour
> of inspection. Going up into the building almost
> THE MASHRAK-EI,-AZCAR OF ESHKHABAD
> UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
> A BAHAT TRAVELLER                               53
> to the top of the dome, we had a fine view of
> the town with its many gardens and surround-
> ing country. The town was as a green oasis in
> the desert, water from the neighboring moun-
> tains being brought to the city and conducted
> through water-ways to the various parks and
> gardens and along the gutters, in order that even
> the trees which flank the streets might be wa-
> tered.
> In the days of Baha'o'llah, He advised certain
> Bahais to migrate to and settle in Eshkhabad.*
> At that time the place was little more than a
> huddle of mud huts. However, little by little,
> broad boulevards were laid off and substantial
> houses were erected in place of the former in-
> ferior ones, until now it is a modern and pros...
> perous city.
> The Mashrak-e1-Azcar stands in the center of
> a garden bounded by four streets. In the four
> corners of this enclosure are four buildings.
> One is the Bahai school; one is the mosa£er-
> khaneh, or travelers' house, where pilgrims and
> travelers are lodged; one is for the keepers, while
> the fourth one is to be used as a hospital. Nine
> radial avenues approach the temple from the sev-
> *Eabkb.]""l _   "City of Love,"
> 54                       OBSERVATIONS OF
> era! parts of the grounds, one of which, the prin-
> cipal approach to the building, leads from the
> main gateway of the grounds to the principal
> portal of the temple.
> The temple is built on the plan of a regular
> polygon of nine sides. One side is occupied by
> the main entrance, flanked by two slender tur-
> rets. This, the principal doorway, opens toward
> the direction of the Holy Land. The entire
> building is surrounded by two series-one upper
> and one lower---of loggias which open out upon
> the garden.
> The principal feature of the interior is the
> rotunda beneath the dome, whic:;.b latter is the
> dominant feature of the exterior. The rotunda
> is surrounded by an aisle or ambulatory. Doors
> give egress from the ambulatory to the lower
> loggia without.
> The interior walls of the rotunda are treated
> in five distinct stories. First, a series of nine
> arches and piers which separate the rotunda
> from the ambulatory. Second, a similar treat-
> ment with balustrades which separate the tri-
> forium gallery (which is above the ambulatory
> and is reached by two staircases in the loggias,
> placed one on either side of the main entrance)
> A BAHAI TRAYELLER                                55
> from the well of the rotunda. Third, a series of
> nine blank arches filled with fretwork, between
> which are escutcheons bearing The Greatest
> Name.* Fourth, a series of nine large arched
> windows. Fifth, a series of eighteen bull's-eye
> windows. Above and resting on a cornice sur-
> mounting this last story rises the inner hemi-
> spherical shell of the dome.
> The interior is elaborately decorated in plas-
> ter relief wo'i-k. I am under the impression that
> eventually it is the intention to treat the interior
> in colors and gold, but at present it is in the
> simple white stucco. The exterior is also being
> done in stucco, which in that climate resists
> quite well the action of the elements. The style
> of the temple is oriental, such as is common in
> Persia, while the exterior treatment of certain
> parts reminds one of the famous Taj-Mahal in
> India. The walls, which are of brick, are mas...
> sively built, while the floors and dome are of
> concrete and iron. The whole structure im-
> presses one by its mass and strength.
> Imposing as is the Mashrak-el-~ as a
> building, the symbol for which it stands, the
> spiritual unity of the Bahais of the Orient, is
> *Allabo'AbIIa (God is the Moat Glorious).
> 56                       OBSERVATIONS OF
> that which impresses the believer more than all
> else. It represents the voluntary heartfelt offer-
> ings of a multitude of souls, the blending of the
> spirit of which is a power distinctively felt. The
> temple building is as an ensign which testifies
> of this unity.
> That which is manifested or. expressed is more
> virile and forceful than that which is not mani-
> fested or unexpressed. The rearing of this tem-
> ple in the East has been a great source of
> strength to the people there, for through thus ex-
> pressing their unity the Bahais have become
> stronger and more united than ever before. Now
> in America the Bahais are arising to build a
> Mashrak-el-Azcar. Who can estimate the effect
> which will be produced by this building? It will
> be the cause of great strength and unity among
> the believers of the Occident and, being The
> House of Unity open to all peoples, it will be as
> a haven of rest to many a soul and as a beacon
> to guide those who seek. This all and more, too,
> it will be for us of the West. Now for those
> faithful souls of the Orient-those through
> whose suffering and sacrifice we in the West
> have received the spiritual light of this latter-
> day revelation-those through whose labors the
> A. BAH.AI TRAYELLER                            57
> way has been made easy for us of the Occident
> -a Mashrak-el-Azcar in America will be as the
> confirmation of their hopes and prayers for the
> West.
> The erection of a temple in the West will
> strengthen the Holy Cause in the East more than
> anything which could happen in this country.
> Has not Abdul-Baha said that after teaching the
> Message of Baha'o'llah of all things now to be
> accomplished in the West the building of the
> temple is the most important? Throughout the
> Bahai world the eyes of all are expectingly
> turned toward this country. Now we must show
> them a sign of spiritual unity and this must be
> the Mashrak-el-Azcar.
> The Bahais of Eshkhabad form. a strong ele-
> ment in the life of the place, and they are bighly
> thought of and protected by the government.
> One of the friends told us of the way in which-
> about eighteen or twenty years ago-the Bahai
> Cause was first brought to the public notice in
> Eshkhabad by a martyrdom. It was the case of
> a learned man of some prominence, who met his
> death through receiving many wounds at the
> hands of two assassins. These two individuals
> had been hired to do the deed by five Moslems,
> 58                        OBSERVATIONS OF
> who took this measure to try to stop the spread
> of the cause in that city. The Russian authori-
> ties took the matter in hand and condemned to
> death all seven men. The Bahais then peti-
> tioned the governor to spare their lives. He not
> having authority to do this, a petition to the
> same effect was sent to the Czar, who granted it,
> and thus the prisoners were sent in chains to
> the mines of Siberia and now not one of the
> seven remains. Here is but another instance of
> the growth of the cause through persecution, for
> from that time on the government not only al-
> lowed the Bahais to worship as they chose, but it
> protected them and showed them special favors.
> During our stay in Eshkhabad we were en-
> tertained in the home of a Bahai by the name of
> Abbasoff. The house with its terrace, porches
> and garden was a large one, but none too spa-
> cious for the number of friends who thronged
> it. Sometimes we sat at table with as many as
> forty pers6ns, and I do not recall dining with less
> than fifteen at table. Between meals the samo-
> var was constantly kept boiling and a running
> service of tea, ices and cooling d$ks was for the
> refreshment of the many callers.
> Three days after our arrival in Eshkhabad we
> A BAHAI TRAVELLER                             59
> went up into the mountains for a few days to a
> resort called Feerouzay, where some of our
> friends had summer homes. SeverciJ.- of the Ba-
> hais accompanied us thither, and while there we
> were joined by about thirty others who had gone
> up from the city for the occasion.
> Every arrangement was made for our personal
> comfort during the drive of several hours to
> Feerouzay. We halted several times beside
> streams to rest the horses as well as to refresh
> ourselves by washing our faces and hands. In
> those oriental countries there is much dust, so
> the traveler welcomes running water. In one of
> the carriages was a supply of ice and soda waters
> -nothing had been forgotten. At first the route
> layover a track on the sandy plain as far as
> the mountains, then it wound up a narrow gorge
> until a fertile valley high up in the mountains
> was reached, at the upper end of which was thel
> town of Feerouzay.
> In the bazaar quarter of the town we were
> greeted by a number who had congregated there
> to welcome us. They were arranged in it double
> ,line on either ~de of the roadway as we drove
> past. Shortly after our arrival in the home of
> Mirza Mohammed Afnan, a son of the aged
> 60                      OBSERVATIONS OF
> Afnan of Akka, where we were to be entertained,
> quite a party gathered for dinner, the festivity
> continuing late into the night.
> During the drive up to Feerouzay, my com-
> panion fell into conversation with the driver of
> the carriage in which he rode, and the man be-
> came much interested in the teaching. On the
> following day, at an early hour, the latter came
> with his family to the house to see my friend
> and to hear more about the message. Our com-
> ing had been noised about, so we met many oth-
> ers, also, who were desirous of knowing about
> the Bahai teaching.
> From where we were, near the frontier, we
> could see the mountains of Persia. It seemed
> strange that upon one side of an imaginary line
> our people were protected and safe, while, upon
> the other side, opposite conditions reigned. The
> Bahais are safe in Turkestan, so from time to
> time Bahai refugees have sought protection there
> from the persecutions in Persia. Sheikh Ali Ak-
> bar, one of the friends who formerly had been a
> mullah (priest of Islam), told us of some of the
> troubles which he had encountered through
> preaching and teaching among his own people,
> until finally he had been obliged to leave his
> A BAHAT TRAVELLER                             61
> home. This man interested us greatly-a man
> of commanding presence, whose finely cut feat-
> ures and poise of bearing bespoke the high caste
> Moslem with his pride and learning, in addition
> to which was the gentle influence of love which
> had come into his life with his acceptance of the
> Bahai faith and his trouble and sacrifices there-
> in. A whole history was written in the lines of
> his face.
> Another type was Sheikh Mohammed Ali,
> upon whom devolves the chanting of the prayers
> and holy words in the Mashrak-el-Azcar, who
> has been given this service to perform on ac-
> count of his vocal qualifications and devotion to
> the cause. From his brilliant face, smiles and
> good cheer, one could hardly believe that his
> back and shoulders were a mass of scars from
> wounds inflicted as torture for his faith at the
> hands of fanatical Moslems.
> Everywhere we found joy upon the faces of
> those who had suffered the most. Only once
> do I recall encountering grief. It was uPOI1t
> meeting with a believer, a very old and infirm
> man, who wept when he greeted us. We were
> told that several members o~ his family had been
> 62                              OBSERVATIONS OF
> martyred during the comparatively recent mas-
> sacres of Bahais in Yazd.
> While in Feerouzay there was a constant
> round of meetings and gatherings. I will make
> special mention of one-a Bahai christening
> which we attended. On the day of our arrival
> in Eshkhabad a son was born to Aga Reza, one
> of the friends of Feerouzay. We were asked to
> name the baby. My friend selected the name
> Rouh' o'llah, which gave evident satisfaction.
> On the fifth day after the child's birth we all
> gathered at the house where a feast had been
> prepared. Tables were spread on a broad piazza..
> overlooking a garden. The baby was brought
> out held up for inspection, prayers and tablets
> were chanted, and before the refreshments were
> served a translation of one of *Mrs. Waite's
> poems was also chanted.
> Unfortunately we were limited as to time and
> were unable to travel further into Turkestan,
> where there are other Bahai centers. While in
> Eshkhabad we met several friends from Merve,
> Samarkhand and Khokhand (which latter is the
> extreme eastern end of Turkestan near the con-
> fines of China), and it was difficult to resist the
> .Onc of the American Bahai..
> A BAHAT TRAVELLER                             63
> urgent and pressing invitations to visit their
> cities.
> Our departure from Eshkhabad was as much
> of an occasion as our arrival had been. It
> seemed as if every person we had met while
> there was at the station to bid us adieu. Then,
> at several stations along the route of travel, we
> were again met by the same good friends who
> had welcomed us before. Three of our good
> oriental brothers accompanied us from Eshkha-
> bad to Baku, where we arrived after two nights
> and one day of travel.
> The two days spent in Baku, between our sec-
> ond arrival and our departure for Persia, passed
> in much the same way as had our'previous visit.
> We were constantly with the friends and on the
> move from one meeting or entertainment to the
> next. Quite the same crowd escorted us again
> to the quay, this time there being no possibility
> of the authorities making trouble for us, as we
> were to land upon Persian-not Russian-soil.
> In going from Russia into Persia the Bahai is
> struck by the difference in the outward attitude
> in relation to the cause of the friends iB those
> two countries. In Russia they are outspoken
> about the faith, because they are protected,
> 64                        OBSERVATIONS OF
> while in Persia it is often with difficulty that one
> is able to recognize the Bahais, because they
> dare not always manifest their real selves on ac-
> count of the persecution. One instance of this
> happened on board the steamer from Baku as
> she was entering Persian waters.
> Before sailing we were told that there were
> some spies aboard and, in case we were ques-
> tioned as to our business, to be careful with our
> replies. Consequently, when I was approached
> by a tall young man wearing a Russian cap and
> long military coat, who persisted in questioning
> me regarding my sojourn in Baku and my desti-
> nation and friends in Persia, I intimated as
> plainly as possible, without actually telling him
> so, that I did not, desire his company. Never-
> theless, he pushed the matter by asking if I did
> not know various people in Baku, mentioning
> cer.tain Bahais who lived there. Something,
> either in my reply or perhaps in my evasion of
> his question, seemed to give him the cue he
> sought. We were seated at a table on the deck
> of the steamer, and reaching under the table he
> grasped  my  hand, at the same time pronouncing
> The Greatest Name, the Bahai greeting-"Al-
> laho'Abha" My chagrin at having so sedulously
> A BAHAl TRAVELLER                               65
> tried to avoid this man was only counteracted by
> the pleasure of meeting him as a friend and
> brother. We had supper together, followed by
> a conversation which lasted late into the night.
> He was a student of engineering in a college itt
> Baku and was then taking a vacation trip into
> Persia. Before the steamer reached Enzalee,
> where we landed, our friend had disembarked at
> an intermediate port on his way into the interior.
> 
> The contrast between the eastern and south-
> ern shores of the Caspian Sea is most striking.
> The former, or that of Turkestan, is arid and
> sterile, while the latter, or that of Persia, is most
> luxuriantly clothed with verdure. As the steam-
> er neared the coast the very air teemed with
> vegetation and insect life. The sea being very
> shallow about Enzalee, in rough weather vessels .
> have difficulty in making the port. Fortunately
> for us there was no sea on, so the landing was
> easily accomplished.
> Mirza Taghi Khan, who had accompanied us
> from Eshkhabad, recognized a Bahai brother in
> the custom-house office, where we had some for-
> malities to attend to in entering our luggage, but
> 66                       OBSERVATIONS OF
> it not being advisable there to enter into saluta-
> tions and conversation with this friend, we sim-
> ply exchanged fraternal and understanding
> glances and passed on.
> From Enzalee we re-embarked for Peere Ba-
> zaar en route for Resht-a trip of three or four
> hours. The boat was rowed and poled across the
> lagoons, which here begin near the sea coast,
> extending inland for some distance. After a
> time we entered an inlet, whereupon the crew
> descended to a towpath and towed the craft to
> the bazaar where we landed.
> I wish I might adequately describe this boat
> ride. It was so typical of Persia that nothing
> could have formed a better introduction to that
> country and to her people. The absolute sim-
> plicity of the mode of transportation, with the
> absence of all hustle and bustle, made it seem
> quite like a pleasure excursion where time was
> no object whatever.
> On the stem of the boat was constructed a
> rude framework upon which was stretched an
> awning under which, reclining on cushions, we
> made ourselves comfortable. The lagoon was
> bordered by thickets of reeds and rushes, and at
> several points we saw buffaloes feeding on
> A BAHAT TRAVELLER                             67
> rushes, their great black hairless backs pro-
> truding from the water, giving them the appear-
> ance of amphibious monsters.
> As we entered the inlet we passed close to
> huddles of huts, where we were able to obtain
> a first glimpse of the domestic life of the coun-
> try people. Here in the lowlands, where timber
> is plenty, the houses of the poorer people are
> built of a light hewn timber framework, which is
> thatched and walled with reeds and rushes and,
> in some cases, plastered with mud. On account
> of the humidity of the marshes the fioor is us-
> ually raised several feet above the ground, al-
> lowing a circulation of air beneath the house.
> We were rather rudely awakened from this
> dreamlike atmosphere of simple life and poetic
> travel by the confusion which accompanied our
> landing at Peere Bazaar. Surrounded by a score
> of men, each of whom laid hold of at least one
> of our many articles of impediment, we made our
> way up a steep bank to a large building which
> housed the shops of the bazaar. After a heated
> discussion of some length with a carriage driver
> -a discussion in which each member of the as-
> sembled crowd took great interest-a bargain
> 68                        OBSERVATIONS OF
> was made, so we mounted and began the drive
> toward the city of Resht, only a few miles dis-
> tant.
> On the highroads of Persia one sees almost
> every aspect of the life of the people of the lower
> classes. At every tum and between the turns
> are tehi khanehs or tea houses, where the peo-
> ple gather to partake of tea, their national bev-
> erage. These buildings always have large door-
> ways opening toward the road, and, in some
> cases, even the whole side of the house is formed
> of movable shutters, which, when removed, give
> the house the character of a great porch.
> Against the wall, usually opposite the doorway,
> is the sakkou, a stand upon which rests the sam-
> ovar or tea urn. This stand is oftc:n quite allelaborate affair, somewhat resembling a church
> altar with its series of steps and shelves, upon
> which are displayed lamps, tea utensils and the
> like, which form the necessary culinary outfit of
> the establishment. On a broad, low seat extend-
> ing about the walls of the room sit, in the Per-
> sian fashion, with their feet drawn up under
> them, the customers drinking their tea, and
> smoking their large water pipes. Here often a
> minstrel is heard singing his lay to an accom-
> A BAHAI TRAYELLER                                 69
> paniment played upon a guitar-like instrument,
> while ofttimes professional story-tellers or trav-
> elers entertain the crowd with tales and anec-
> dotes. The Persian is undoubtedly the most so-
> cial of all men, and this characteristic is the first
> and last impressed upon the traveler as he jour-
> neys through the country, for he observes it in
> every grade of society.
> On arriving in Resht, we drove to the house
> of one of the Bahai friends. The master of the
> house was not at home, but after we explained
> to the servants that we had come for a visit they
> made us very welcome, serving a lunch, after
> which, according to the custom of the country,
> we were put to bed for an afternoon nap. Mter
> sleeping for an hour or more I awoke, and look-
> ing out into the next room, saw there our host
> quietly seated waiting for us to awake. Though
> I had never met this good friend I recognized
> him from having seen his photograph, and on
> going out into the next room he greeted me with
> the hospitable and customary embrace of the
> Orient.
> Our thought had been to stay at Resht only
> over night, but when we found ourselves in the
> hands of the friends there it was difficult to
> 70                       OBSERVATIONS OF
> break away. After much talking they decided
> to allow us to continue our journey at the ex-
> piration of three days.
> In the late afternoon of the day we arrived,
> we began to receive calls from friends who had
> been notified of our arrival. On account of the
> persecution of our peopie in Resht not more
> than nineteen or twenty gathered in the house
> at anyone time, but there was a constant com-
> ing and going until late in the night. Everyone
> was anxious to hear the latest news from Akka
> and also of the work in the West. My compan-
> ion, who spoke the language of the country, was
> kept quite busy talking. Not speaking Persian,
> my conversation was limited to the few who
> spoke English and French. However, this was
> not without its advantages, for not being occu-
> pied in talking, I had an opportunity for observ-
> ing many things which otherwise might have es-
> caped me.
> After dinner, which was served between ten
> and eleven o'clock at night, we mounted to a bal-
> cony overlooking the neighboring houses and
> gardens, where coffee was served. Here we sat
> talking of the cause until a late hour. The still-
> ness of the nights in the Orient is impressive.
> A BAHAI TRAVELLER                               71
> Here we were in the heart of a large city, yet
> save for the occasional cry of a night watchman,
> or a singer chanting, or the tinkling of the bells
> of a caravan passing in the distance, there was
> nothing to break the silence. This, with the
> brilliancy of the firmament and the refreshing
> breezes of the night in contrast with the parch-
> ing heat of the day, makes the night the time
> when the Oriental people really live.
> .:;( Under such climatic conditions it is not sur-
> prising that the Oriental has turned his atten-
> tion from things material to things immaterial,
> from the practical to the poetic, and from the
> outer world of nature to the inner world of the
> spirit. Things spiritual have always had their
> first fruition and growth in the O.J;ient and from
> there they have found their way to the West,
> where they have become the moving factor in
> our lives and the basis of our civilization.
> It was in Persia that the wise men of old read
> from the heavens of the approeclUng birth of
> Jesus, The Christ, before they' went westward
> to welcome and pay homage to Him, the :Mes-
> siah. It was from the Orient that Christ's mes-
> sage went forth to the western world-the fruits
> of the spirit of which we in the West are -now
> 72                       OBSERVATIONS OF
> enjoying-for the most enlightened civilization
> of the present day is the fruit of the spiritual
> awakening of man through Christ.
> But now another note has sounded throughout
> the world. Baha' o'llah, the Promised One of all
> religions, has appeared in order to unite all peo-
> ples of all faiths, and it was with His followers
> that we lived and traveled in the East. Surely
> no western travelers in those distant lands ever
> had so warm a reception as we did-at times en-
> tertained in the places of the wealthy, and at
> other times in the simplest of mud dwellings
> along the wayside; yet everywhere with the
> same heartfelt hospitality. The fact that one
> was able to serve a banquet, and another but a
> cup of tea, in no way seemed to restrict the
> warmth of the meeting nor their desire to share
> with others.
> With the Bahais the tie of faith is the strong-
> est of ties. Though two Bahais may meet but
> for a few moments it is as if they had always
> been friends. Westerners have written and said
> much about the treachery of the Oriental, while
> but scanty if any mention is made of him as a
> friend. Westerners see the wrong side of East-
> ern character, because they usually go to the
> A BAHAT TRAVELLER                               73
> East to plunder-not to court-for most times
> they go to the East to enrich themselves at the
> expense of the Oriental. This is easy and pos-
> sible because of the superior practical education
> of ~e West but, in turn, it has its reactionary
> effect upon both peoples, for it increases the nat-
> ural abyss between Occident and Orient and
> calls forth the worst characteristics of both. But
> how different is all this with those who go to the
> East in the Bahai spirit of brotherhood to give
> and to win and not to take. They find friends
> in every city and hamlet, and many a friendly
> door open to them along the roadside and cara-
> van route, for through the uniting spirit of the
> Bahai teaching, the greatest degree of fraternity
> and friendship exists among its followers.
> Through this spiritual power the highest and
> most noble characteristics of man's soul are de-
> veloped and become his ruling instincts.
> 
> The three days spent in Resht passed quickly.
> Here we had our first glimpse of the home life
> of the people of Persia, for we were with the
> friends all the time, going from one home to the
> next, for a meal here or for tea there. We al-
> ways met small groups of people, wisdom not
> 74                        OBSERVATIONS OF
> permi tting the holding of large gatherings on ac-
> count of the opposition and trouble brought
> about by the unbelievers. I recall one day when
> we had gathered, nineteen in number, in the
> upper part of a dwelling. The friend who
> chanted the prayers and holy verses used cau-
> tion in modulating his voice. so that it might not
> carry to the street below. lest it might attract
> the attention of unfriendly ears. During this
> meeting a commotion took place in the street
> beneath. This was caused by an altercation be-
> tween some passers-by. For a moment every
> One in the chamber held his breath, until one of
> the men, cautiously approaching a window, sat-
> isfied himself that there was no danger. I will
> never forget this picture. The assembled Be-
> lievers exchanged glances which bespoke experi-
> ences of past troubles and persecutions, while at
> the far end of the rOOm stood the friend cau-
> tiously peering out into the street through the
> partially closed shutter.
> M.uch suffering and trouble has made the Per-
> sian Bahais vigilant and cautious in evading the
> troubles heaped upon them by the l\{usselmans,
> yet at the same time it has made them strong in
> faith and ready to withstand the most dire ca-
> A BAHAl TRAVELLER                             75
> lamity and even martyrdom in the cause. Once
> I remonstrated with some friends against their
> being seen walking in the streets with my com-
> panion and me, lest this should cause trouble for
> them whereupon, not understanding me very
> well, they assured me that no bodily harm could
> befall us because we were Occidentals, for whom
> even the fanatical Moslems have a certain re-
> spect, while, as for themselves, they were ready
> at all times to be added to the great anny of
> Bahai martyrs. Though dispassionately said,
> they but voiced the sentiment of the Persian Ba-
> hais in general, the sincerity of which has often
> been demonstrated by the vast numbers who
> willingly and with joy have sacrificed property,
> family and life in the path of Baha.
> 
> Teh~ is about two hundred and twenty-
> five miles from Resht by the carriage road.
> This road, built and maintained by Russian
> enterprise, is an excellent piece of engineer-
> ing, and in recent years has made the trip
> to the capital one of comparative ease and
> comfort. A well organized system of relay sta-
> tions affords changes of horses along the route,
> so if the traveler be pressed for time the entire
> 76                        OBSERVATIONS OF
> trip may be made in forty-eight or fifty hours.
> However, this traveling day and night without
> rest is fatiguing, so we found it better to travel
> by night, resting in the middle of the day when
> the sun was highest.
> Accordingly, my American companion, Mirza
> Taghi Khan, our Persian friend, and I set out
> from Resht for Teheran. Several of the good
> friends accompanied us to a point without the
> city limits, where we changed from the light
> carriage in which we had come to a heavy trav-
> eling coach drawn by four horses, which was to
> convey us to our destination. Here parting
> greetings were exchanged and we started on our
> cross-country journey.
> For some distance our way led through the
> rice fields of the lowlands which border the Cas-
> pian Sea and where the sea once extended until
> driven back by alluvial deposits brought down
> from the mountains. Then, winding up a broad
> valley, we found ourselves amid the heavily
> wooded foot hills of the Elburz range. Making
> stops every three or four hours to change horses
> gave us opportunity to refresh ourselves with
> tea and food at the post-khanehs (post-houses)
> along the route.
> A BAHAT TRAVELLER                             77
> At various points we were met by Bahai
> friends who had been notified of our coming. At
> one place a friend was very disappointed that we
> could not remain for dinner, but as we had dined
> shortly before, it was impossible and we did not
> have time to remain until the next meal. To our
> surprise, a few hours later, while stopping at a
> post-khaneh we had a phone message from an
> inn a couple of hours ahead saying that our
> friend, with whom we were not able to dine,
> had arranged by phone that we should be his
> guests there that evening, even though he could
> not be there to feast with us. The object of the
> message sent us from the inn was to inquire
> what we might like for dinner in order that all
> might be in readiness when we arrived.
> In one place I well remember we were met
> by a young man who had lived in Shiraz. He
> took us into his little house consisting of but
> one room. Simple as was this abode we had no
> more hearty welcome anywhere. Searching in
> the depths of a chest he produced pamphlets and
> Bahai greetings printed in WashingtoI4 which
> had found their way thither and were being pre-
> served along with other treasures relating to the
> cause. Here we remained for tea, but as our
> 78                         OBSERVATIONS OF
> time was limited, we felt we must decline a very
> pressing invitation to remain for the night. Our
> young friend, disappointed at not seeing more
> of us, took the fourth place in the coach and
> journeyed along with us in order that the visit
> might be prolonged.
> Shortly before our arrival in Persian territory,
> the country had been greatly stirred by the bom-
> bardment of the parliament in Teheran by the
> troops of the Shah, and of the massacre and im-
> prisonment of a number of the members of that
> unfortunate body. This action upon the part of
> the imperial party was the outcome of a long dis-
> agreement between the Shah and the Constitu-
> tionalists-a political matter which for some
> time had agitated the country.
> As we journeyed onward t our friend spoke at
> some length of these political troubles which
> were occupying the attention of every one, at the
> same time saying that the Bahais had remained
> neutral in the hope of helping the condition of
> the country along the lines of peace and arbitra-
> tion rather than by strife and bloodshed. Later
> on he informed us that several constitutionalist
> fugitives, on their way from Teheran to exile in
> Europe, were hourly expected to pass over that
> A BAHAl TRAVELLER                               79
> portion of the route; so we kept an eye ahead,
> hoping to obtain a glimpse of the expected
> party.
> By this time the road had entered between
> high and barren mountains with scarcely a ves-
> tige of vegetation, for we were leaving behind
> us the fertile lowlands and ascending the moun-
> tains which form the northern buttress of the
> great central plateau of Persia. To add to the
> dismalness of the scene night was closing in and
> gusts of wind mingled with rain and flashes of
> lightning made the falling darkness more in-
> tense, while peals of distant thunder broke the
> monotony of the clatter of the horses' hoofs and
> the rumble of the coach.
> More and more the mountain sides encroached
> upon the valley, until the road entered a deep
> gorge in the rocks. Toone side towered an al-
> most perpendicular cliff; on the other descended
> a chasm, in the depths of which dashed a moun-
> tain torrent on its turbulent way to the lands
> below. While passing through this defile. the
> pent-up fury of the stonn broke with all its force.
> Suddenly a shout was heard ahead, and we
> peered out into the gloom just in time to see
> three coaches pass in quick succession. With the
> 80                        OBSERVATIONS OF
> first came a flash of lightning that revealed to us
> the anxious and haggard faces of its occupants-
> two of the fugitives in their flight. In an in-
> stant they were gone, and the noise of the
> coaches was lost in the distance.
> In a few moments a bridge over the ravine
> and an abrupt tum in the road brought us out
> into a broad upland valley, where the storm had
> ceased, and shortly we drew up before the
> house of a Bahai friend in the village of MangiIe,
> to find a welcome awaiting us. Here we took
> refuge, and in an upper chamber seated ourselves
> about a table upon which was spread a tempting
> meal.
> After supper we sat talking for a time and[
> listening to some music which our friend, who
> had lived in Shiraz, made upon a Persian guitar.
> Being tired, both the other American and I fell
> asleep. Awaking about three hours later, we
> found the sky perfectly clear and the world
> bathed in the brilliant moonlight of the East.
> So, parting with our good host and the young
> man who had accompanied us thither, we set
> out again upon our journey, refreshed in body
> and soul by the hospitality and the affectionate
> meeting with these Bahai brothers.
> A BAHAI TRA YELLER                            81
> The ancient city of Khazvin is the only place
> of importance between Resht and Teheran. It
> being one of the principal Bahai centers of Per-
> sia, we planned to tarry there in order to meet
> the Believers. About four hours from the city,
> we stopped at a post-khaneh to sleep and rest,
> for we knew that on arrival in a Bahai commu-
> nity we would be much feted and have little op-
> portunity for repose.
> As so on as we had settled ourselves in thei
> inn, the sound of carriages entering the court
> yard announced the arrival of other guests. Sur-
> veying the newcomers from a window, I counted
> eight men as they descended from two carriages.
> Suddenly I recognized one of the number, a cer-
> tain physician of Khazvin with whom I had cor-
> responded and whose features I recalled from
> having seen ~everal photographs of him. These
> friends, hearing of our approach, hastily joined
> themselves into a party. coming over the road to
> meet us. The greeting was a hearty one. Our
> friends had not come empty handed, for, as soon
> as the first salutations were over, trays of de-
> licious fruits were produced, tea was served, and
> thus we spent an hour or more in conversation
> and feasting.
> 82                       OBSERVATIONS OF
> While during very recent years the Bahais
> have been comparatively tranquil in Khazvin,
> nevertheless, even now, great care has to be ob-
> served and every precaution is taken against giv-
> ing people the slightest ground to criticise or
> make ~rouble for the Believers. Accordingly,
> two hours before dusk we all set out for the city,
> entering the gates under cover of the night.
> After wending our way through many narrow
> and tortuous streets, some lined with shops and
> brilliantly lighted, others flanked by high walls
> and dark. we found ourselves at the house of the
> Bahai doctor.
> A small, low. and heavily-barred doorway.
> piercing a massive brick wall, formed the street
> entrance to the house. 0 n entering. we found
> ourselves in a small court-yard lighted by many
> lamps, about which were placed plants and
> shru bs in tubs and pots. Behind this, to one
> side, opened a large court containing a garden.
> while, upon the other side was the entrance to
> the house. Entering the latter, and halting for
> a few moments in an antechamber to remove
> the dust from our clothing and wash our hands
> and faces at a small fountain placed there for the
> purpose, we were taken to the guest room. As
> A BAHAl TRAVELLER                                83
> soon as we arrived, friends began to call in small
> groups, coming and going until dinner was
> served, which, according to the custom of the
> place, was just before bed time. After dinner
> we went to our room and, tired by travel and the
> social events of the day, we fell asleep, not awak-
> ing until the sun was quite high.
> To the Oriental, all hours of the twenty-four
> are the same. He is quite as apt to have a caller
> at sunrise as at sunset, and he thinks nothing of
> starting forth on a cross-country journey at one
> or two o'clock in the night. When we awoke
> about eight o'clock the morning after our arrival
> in Khazvin, we found several friends assembled
> to see us, while, to our chagrin, we learned that
> others had come and, not able to remain, had
> gone while we slept. As in other places, our
> stay here was one continuous round of visits,
> something being planned for every hour of the
> day_ On our first afternoon we were entertained
> at tea at the house of a certain Bahai merchant.
> This meeting was so typically Persian and pic-
> turesque in its setting, that I must give a brief
> description of it.
> Escorted by some of the friends, we went
> through narrow streets until we came to the
> 84                        OBSERVATIONS OF
> house of the merchant. A simple doorway in a
> wall of sunádried and burnt bricks opened on a
> flight of steps, which descended to the level of
> the outer court-yard of the house. Crossing this
> court, in the center of which was a basin of waá
> ter surrounded by flowers, we were taken by an
> exterior staircase to the upper floor of the house,
> and passing through an antechamber, we entered
> the room where the friends awaited us.
> I will never forget the first impression of this
> meeting. Imagine a large room with a low paná
> eled ceiling, a long table a mass of color with
> its fruits and viands, while the air was fined with
> a fragrance of flowers placed about in profusion,
> broad open windows, the transoms of which were
> filled with intricate fretwork and colored glass,
> looking down upon a series of gardens that
> stretched off toward the country, with a back.
> ground of distant mountains; then, in the midst
> of this beautiful and harmonious scene, forty or
> more Bahais seated about the room in their
> many colored robes-it was a picture never to
> be forgotten.
> Men of all ages were there. Some who, after
> many years of hardship and service in the cause,
> were entering into the evening of this life, while
> A BARAI TRAVELLER                               85
> others, young and in full vigor of manhood, were
> in the prime of their time of s~rvice. I well re-
> member two--father and son-the older man,
> blind and feeble in body, yet with a keen mind
> and an enthusiastic soul, while his son, strong in
> body, was eyes and limbs for his father. Thus
> they had traveled together and taught in many
> towns and provinces and were at that time teach-
> ing in Khazvin.
> We were given seats at the head of the table
> and after the usual service of chanting, feasting
> commenced with an interchange of ideas and
> items of Bahai interest, both occidental and
> oriental. After the feast we took a stroll through
> the garden, and at dusk, bidding adieu to our
> host and his guests we returned to the house of
> the good hakim (physician).
> Even in the earliest days of the holy cause
> Khazvin was an important center. Kurratu'l-
> Ayn, to whom The Bab gave the title Jenab-i-
> Tahira (Her Highness, the Most Pure), was of
> Khazvin. Her fame as a poetess, as a heroine
> and a servant in the days of The Bab, and as a
> martyr in the cause, is well known amongst the
> Bahai friends. It is in the garden of her house
> 86                        OBSERVATIONS OF
> in Khazvin that in recent years the Believers
> have constructed a Mashrak-el-Azcar.
> One evening at dusk we were conducted thith-
> er. Following one of our friends, we were soon
> lost in the labyrinth of streets of the old part of
> the city. Going through the ancient bazaars,
> with their high vaulted roofs, dimly lighted here
> and there by lanterns, one could easily imagine
> himself in a great subterranean world. Care-
> fully we picked our way along, fearful of drop-
> ping into an open cistern or water-way--quite
> possible in such places-until we at last de-
> scended from the street into the ancient court-
> yard of the home of Kurratu'l-'Ayn. From here
> we were taken into the garden, at the farthest
> end of which stood the Mashrak-eI-Azcar'. Here.
> under the portico, many friends were grouped to
> meet us. Then we entered the building, where
> the usual entertainment of chanting and a colla-
> tion was offered us.
> Within the precincts of the temple lived a very
> old believer-one of the original followers of
> The Bab-who entertained us by recounting
> many interesting incidents connected with the
> early days of the movement and with the life of
> Kurratu'l.' Ayn. On leaving the Mashrak-el-Az-
> A BAHAI TRAYELLER                               87
> car, we found the garden had been illuminated
> by lamps, placed about the fountains and along
> the walks. Passing along an alley of trees and
> shrubs, which led toward the ancient dwelling,
> we saw in the distance the veiled figure of a
> woman standing in the doorway, lights on either
> side of the portal making her clearly visible in
> contrast with the surrounding darkness. This
> was the daughter of our venerable host, the
> teacher who lived here, and she awaited us with
> a word of salutation and greeting. As she spoke
> she parted slightly her chador or veiL We,
> in tum, gave her the greetings of the maid ser-
> vants of the Bahai assemblies of the West, ask-
> ing her to convey the same to the women Bahais
> of Khazvin. Then, taking leave of the Believers,
> we ascended to the street and, with the assist-
> ance of several friends provided with lanterns,
> we returned to the house of the hospitable doctor.
> 
> In contrast with this meeting in the Masnrak-
> el-Azcar, I will describe a visit we made the fol-
> lowing morning to one of the government pris-
> ons. A party of us, after walking through a
> most beautiful public garden laid off with ave-
> 88                        OBSERVATIONS OF
> nues of stately cypress trees, stopped before
> some government buildings used to house a gar-
> rison. Near by was the city prison and, as we
> stood, there proceeded from the open doorway a
> procession of twelve or fifteen prisoners. They
> were marching in single file, each with a heavy
> iron collar about his neck, by which he was at-
> tached to a long chain which clanked dolefully
> as the line moved slowly across the court-yard.
> When near us the prisoners halted long
> enough for us to give them some coins for food.
> They began telling us their various stories. One
> had been imprisoned for stealing, another for
> murder, and so it ran. Later on we went into
> the dungeon, where other prisoners were chained
> by the neck to a series of irons in the floor, which
> kept them lying at full length. I go into these
> painful details to give an idea of a Persian pris-
> on, for in these prisons many Bahais have lan-
> guished and from them gone forth to martyr-
> dom.
> 
> Shortly before sunset one evening we set out
> for Teheran. Several carriages conveyed a party
> of us to a certain caravanserai, an hour or more
> c
> 
> c
> ~
> A BAHAI TRAYELLER                               89
> 
> distant from the city, where we all alighted for
> tea and to bid farewell to one another. One of
> the friends in Teheran, being notified from Resht
> of our approach to the capital, had sent a trusted
> household servant to meet us on the way and
> render us any possible service. This man joined
> us in Khazvin, and though we had no special
> need of him he journeyed onward with us.
> It was between twelve and one o'clock that
> night when we made our first stop at the house
> of a hitherto unknown friend. We were greeted
> with the usual hospitality, to which by this time
> we had become so accustomed that we had al-
> most ceased to wonder at it. It was thought
> best to remain here for two or three hours for
> rest before continuing the journey So, after
> +
> 
> supper had been served, we were shown to a
> room where, removing our outer clothing, we
> laid ourselves down on divans, expecting to get
> a little sleep.
> My friend was remarking that Bahai ;:ondi-
> tions in Persia were hardly what he had an-
> ticipated, for here we were traveling om.á.ud to
> the capital without difficulty, when only a few
> years previous Bahai blood had flowed in the
> very places through which we were passing. He
> 90                       OBSERVNrrONS OF
> had scarcely finished speaking when, from the
> court-yard below our windows, we heard a muc-
> mur of voices which grew in intensity until it
> became a chorus of loud harangues. Though I
> knew only a few words of Persian, I understood
> from these few and from the angry tones, that
> some people were cursing the Bahai Cause and
> its adherents and particularly our host, whose
> voice we could distinguish from time to time ex-
> postulating with the crowd. After a few mo-
> ments he came to our door to express his regret
> a t the occurrence and to assure us that all was
> well and that there was no prospect of violence.
> Again, shortly. we heard his voice outside and
> the din subsided, though for an hour or more
> there were spasmodic outbursts of rage coming
> from various directions out of the darkness.
> It seems that a company of soldiers was trav-
> eling that way and instead of quartering them-
> selves, as was usual, in the caravanserai, which
> was near, they preferred the shelter of the yard
> and garden of our friend, where, against his pro-
> tests, they proceeded to install themselves. At
> this juncture we arrived, and under the light of
> the portico of the house they saw him greet us.
> A RAHAl TEA VELLER                                91
> Some of the soldiers knew that he was a Bahai,
> and this fact, together with our hospitable recep-
> tion, gave sufficient grounds for such a demoná
> stration. Betvleen three and four o'clock in the
> morning we took our leave. By this time all had
> quieted down and the agitators, rolled in their
> blankets, were sleeping on the pavement of the
> court, while a chams of snores was all that broke
> the peace and harmony of the night.
> The road from Khazvin to Teheran traverses
> desola te tracts of arid land, intersected at long
> intervals by streams, the banks of which are
> flanked by gardens. In the desert the presence
> of water gives rise to the most luxuriant vegeta-
> tion, but when absent, the bleaching bones of
> beasts of burden strewing the highways, with
> here and there a great hungry looking vulture,
> accentuate the contrast between garden and
> desert and life and death. This same condition
> we sensed in the soul life of the people whom
> we met. Entering various Bahai houses along
> the route, a meal here and a glass of tea there,
> we were quickened by the kindness and devotion
> of these friends. They outwardly manifested
> the life of the indwelling spirit of their faith. 01"
> 92                        OBSERVATIONS OF
> the other hand, we were constantly reminded of
> the fanaticism and spiritual darkness of the many
> whom we passed on the highways-men of vari-
> ous religions and castes, who considered us and
> aU, save those of their own cult, as unclean dogs.
> Surely, if possible, their stare would have killed,
> but, as it was, it was only painful. There is no
> fana ticism so intense as that encountered in the
> Orient.
> One of the prophecies relative to this day is
> that "the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the
> rose." Indeed we saw the fulfillment of this
> marvelous verse, for many of the people who
> were kindest to us had, only a comparatively
> short time before, been as desert land untouched
> by the spirit. Of one man, particularly kind to
> us, we asked how long he had been a Bahai,
> thinking that he had acquired his ill umina tion
> through years of service. To our question he re-
> plied: "Thirty-one days," speaking as if it had
> been a lifetime in itself and, verily, so it had,
> for he had been born again. As in the desert the
> presence of water gives rise to most luxuriant
> vegetation, so it is in the desert of men's souls,
> when the life-giving water of the spirit of God
> enters it gives rise to the fruits of the kingdom.
> A BAHAI 'fRAVELLER                            93
> 
> While crossing a parched plain four or five
> hours from Teheran, our carriage broke down.
> Mter some little difficulty the damage was suf-
> ficiently repaired to allow us to proceed at a
> moderate pace for a mile or more, until we ar-
> rived at a post-khaneh kept by a friend, who,
> when we explained that we would be obliged to
> remain there for several hours for repairs, quite
> frankly showed his delight at the prospect of a
> visit. This man was from Esphahan, where our
> people have suffered much at the hands of the
> fanatical Moslems, as well as by the oppression
> of unscrupulous rulers.
> In speaking of the Bahais in Persia, and their
> relations with those in the West, this believer
> struck the keynote when he said that in his
> country the Bahais had suffered such long and
> strenuous persecution and trouble, that they had
> become tired and heartsick, and needed the as-
> sociation and moral support of the friends of
> the West. How often we thought of the reverse
> conditions existing in the West, where we are
> in need of this spirit, which the Oriental Bahais
> have received through suffering. The West
> needs what the East has to give and the East
> needs what the West has to give it. This in-
> 94                        OBSERVATIONS OF
> terchange can take place only as the two come
> together in love and harmony. In the past Oc-
> cidentals have gone to the Orient and Orient~ls
> to the Occident, but because of an absence of
> basic unity-religious unity-no lasting good
> has come to either. Now how different is this
> when, in the Bahai Cause~ Easterners go West
> and Westerners go East, meeting on the comá
> mon ground of faith, for then each returns to his
> own country and people refreshed in soul and
> buoyant with a force and knowledge which help
> him to face his problems and demonstrate to him
> the conquering power of spiritual oneness, the
> mission of the Bahai Cause.
> 
> Taking leave of this friend from Esphahan, we
> proceeded eastward toward Teheran. About
> two hours before sunset we sighted the domes
> and minarets of the capital, rich in color, rising
> from the floor of the plain against a background
> of the snow-clad Elburz. As we neared the city
> we saw ahead several carriages driving rapidly
> toward' us. These were at first distinguishable
> only by the clouds of dust which enveloped them.
> Then, as they drew quite near to us, we distin-
> A BABAI TRAVELLER                               95
> guished the occupants eagerly looking out ahead.
> Instinctively we knew these to be friends, and,
> almost before the drivers could rein in the horses
> they had descended and surrounded our carriage.
> After an affectionate welcome, we found our-
> selves laden with flowers which these friends
> had brought to us. To the traveler of the desert
> nothing is more refreshing than to bury his face
> in fragrant flowers. After traveling for hours
> in clouds of dust under a parching sun, without
> a vestige of vegetation, he really appreciates
> vegetable life and the fragrance of the flowers
> when finally he finds himself within the enclos-
> ure of a garden. So it is with us, spiritually,
> we meet souls who are alive in the Lord; their
> presence is an oasis in the desert of the world
> and contact with them is soul refreshing and in-
> vigorating. Thus we found the flowers, brought
> us, symbolic of the spiritual aspect of our meet-
> ing with the Teheran friends.
> Before reaching the city gates, we halted be-
> fore the entrance of a large and beautiful garden,
> where we were met by more friends. Entering
> the garden and passing along beside waterways
> and avenues of trees and shrubs, we came to an
> 96                       OBSERVATIONS OF
> open summer pavilion, where tea and other re-
> freshments were served us.
> After the sacred chants, which characterize all
> reunions of our people in the East. we conversed
> for a time. delivering messages and letters
> brought with us from friends in other places, as
> well as giving accounts of the work in the West.
> Shortly before sunset the party entered the city,
> several of the friends accompanying us to the
> quarters where it had been arranged that we
> should be installed.
> As I have already stated, just before our en-
> tering on Persian soil, there had been revolution
> and bloodshed in Teheran. By the time, how-
> ever, that we reached the capital all was tran-
> quil. Had it not been for the ruins and the
> debris of the buildings, lately cannonaded, there
> would have been no visible traces of the recent
> troubles. In fact, we found the Bahais there in
> the utmost peace and happiness. As they had
> taken no part in the political troubles of the day
> they were in the good esteem and respect of the
> government, and now were enjoying unusual
> privileges. On account of the revolution no
> gatherings of any nature were allowed by the
> police, yet upon several occasions the Bahais ob-
> A BAHAI TRAVELLER                                97
> tained permission to hold meetings numbering
> as many as four hundred and more souls. Sev-
> eral of the Bahais had been appointed to high
> governmental positions and a general spirit of
> assurance and safety characterized the assembly,
> which was quite different from anything hither-
> to known there in the history of the cause. Now
> many of the friends in Teheran are known as
> Bahais and it does not seem to embarrass them,
> whereas not many years ago it would have
> meant death. This freedom in the capital be-
> speaks rapid progress in the caUSe throughout
> the country in the near future, because, being
> the life and center of all things in Persia, the in-
> fluence of Teheran is widely felt throughout the
> various cities and provinces.
> I will not attempt to give a detailed descrip-
> tion of the series of breakfasts, excursions, recep-
> tions and dinners which we attended in Teheran,
> but I will make mention of a few meetings and
> entertainments which were typical of the many
> accorded us. Fortunately a most tranquil spirit
> of repose characterizes Bahai entertainments in
> the East, otherwise we had not been able to keep
> up the round as we did, day and night, from
> week to week. While the spiritual feature of all
> 98                        OBSERVATIONS OF
> meetings was the more important, nevertheless
> one's material wants were never disregarded,
> and every possible thing was done for our bodily
> comfort. The social events of the day usually
> began at sunrise when tea was served, after
> which visits were usually received until nine ot'
> ten o'clock, when we would start forth to the
> house where we happened to be lunching that
> day, or on some excursion about the city. Lunch
> was usually served at noon and was followed by
> a nap, from which we would be aroused for tea
> before going to a late afternoon gathering of
> Believers, invariably held in some garden-few
> if any houses being large enough to accommo-
> date these large afternoon reunions. The even-
> ings were always spent at the house of some
> friend where we dined, the dinner being served
> about ten o'clock.
> During my stay in Teheran, because of po-
> ltical agitations, there was fear of an uprising of
> the people, so no one was allowed to circulate in
> the streets after eleven o'clock at night without
> a special permit. Several times we had this per-
> mission through the kind efforts of friends, but
> on various other occasions we spent the night at
> the house where we dined, sleeping usually out
> A BAllAI TRAáVELLER                           99
> of doors as is the summer custom of the Per-
> sians.
> At the home of one of the friends of the cause
> there was a subterranean bath built for the most
> part below the level of a garden. This was placed
> at our disposal during our sojourn there. A
> flight of steps led from the ground level down to
> the vaulted chambers of the bath, which were
> floored with slabs of marble, while the walls, up
> to a certain height, were set with rare old tiles.
> The bath in the East is quite a lengthy process
> with its hot and cold water douches and rnassag.
> ing, and it is invariably followed by refresh-
> ments, conversation and a nap. After bathing
> here the morning following our arrival in Teá
> heran. we went into a neighboring garden, where
> a number of our friends awaited us, and where
> we were refreshed with sherbet.
> One of our good brothers. an Israelite just
> graduated in medicine, was delegated by the asá
> sembly to serve us as guide, to make out a
> schedule of meetings and entertainments, and to
> see that we arrived at the appointed places at the
> scheduled times. I will never cease to marvel
> at the devotion and unselfish service of this
> young man. He was with us practically all the
> 100                       OBSERVATIONS OF
> time doing everything in his power to make
> things as agreeable and as comfortable as possi-
> ble. Had I traveled to Teheran to meet him
> only, I should have considered my time well
> spent and a valuable lesson learned. Lessons in
> brotherly devotion one can see exemplified in
> the lives of these eastern brothers, for they have
> suffered for the cause until friendship and devo-
> tion have become dominant characteristics.
> Among the many who entertained us were
> two young men, sons of the noted Bahai teacher
> and poet, Vargha who, together with another
> son of but twelve years, Ruollah, suffered a mar-
> tyr's death during one of the later persecutions
> in Teheran. For several years the bodies of these
> martyrs lay in a common grave, where they had
> been flung by their executioners. After matters
> had become more tranquil for the Bahais their
> remains were removed in the night and with the
> greatest difficulty, and given a befitting entomb-
> ment.
> When we were told of this matter, we asked
> that we might visit the tomb of these two mar-
> tyrs. Consequently, the following morning the
> younger son came and escorted us thither. In
> the center of a beautiful garden, at some little
> 102                        OBSERVATIONS OF
> came to us only after it had attained its growth
> in the Orient under the fire of the most savage
> persecution.
> The spirit of the friends who suffered so in
> Persia is indeed inspiration and food for the soul.
> During the return drive to the city, our young
> friend spoke of the martyrdom of his father and
> brother and told us that often as he walked the
> streets he passed the man who killed them, yet,
> so happy is he that they were permitted to serve
> the religion by dying for it, and so strong in his
> own faith, there is no room left in his soul for
> harboring enmity for those through whom his
> trou bles came.
> I mention this one specific case, which was
> but one of many. On all sides we heard of the
> trou bles and persecutions of our people, but not
> once did we hear so much as a suggestion oB
> anything which savored of antagonism or hatred
> toward the persecutors. This and the unity and
> solidarity of the Persian Bahais impressed me
> more than all else in Persia. The strength of a
> chain is measured by the strength of its individ-
> uallinks, And this is likewise true in the assem-
> bly of Believers. The work accomplished by the
> A BAHAI TRA"VELLER                           103
> body is in proportion to the strength and stead-
> fastness of its individual members.
> Since returning to America, many people have
> asked me about the condition of Bahai women in
> Persia. Compared with our acquaintance with
> men, our acquaintance with the women was but
> slight; nevertheless, from seeing even a" few
> women and by talking with many men upon the
> subject, we were able to form at least an idea of
> existing conditions.
> In Persia, as in most Oriental countries, the
> conventions of society demand the seclusion of
> women. Through the influence of the Bahai
> teachings, we found our people to be quite rid of
> that mental attitude so generally held in the
> Orient-that woman is in every way man's in-
> ferior and should be his slave. The Bahais in
> Persia are doing all in their power for the edu-
> cation and training of women. In a recent tab-
> let from Abdul-Baha, regarding education, he
> writes of the necessity of the education of boys
> and then goes on to demonstrate how much more
> necessary it is that girls should be educated and
> trained, because they-the girls-are to be the
> mothers and the educators and trainers of the
> coming generation. The attitude of the Bahais
> 104                       OBSERV ATIONS OF
> in Persia toward women is quite that held by
> most enlightened people in the West. but on
> account of existing social conditions and the per.
> secution of our people, they are not yet able to
> carry out their ideas and aspirations.
> Even after visiting Persia it is almost impos.
> sible to comprehend the hatred of the people
> toward the Bahais. Fanatical by nature and
> creed-bound, the Moslem hates everything out-
> side of his own realm of thought, and when he
> sees his own people adopting new ideas his wrath
> is often uncontrollable and he goes forth to kill.
> By this reign of ignorance some of the difficul-
> ties under which the Bahai reformers are work-
> ing can be imagined. In the early days of the
> movement, with all the enthusiasm of newly
> awakened souls, the Believers sought with fer-
> vor to bring about quick changes in Persia. They
> taught unguardedly and raised so much antag-
> onism that the cause was all but exterminated
> by the massacres which ensued. Such troubles
> characterized the days of The First Point-
> The Bab--and also the beginning of the minis-
> try of Baha'o'llah. However, under the guid-
> ance of the latter the Bahais learned to be cau-
> tious and careful in their religiOUS work until
> A BAH.Al TRAVELLER                              105
> now, avoiding disagreement and friction with
> the opposers, they are peacefully and steadily
> working and changing ignorance into knowledge
> and hatred into love.
> Under these improving conditions the women
> are naturally becoming more and more, as we
> teon it in the West, "emancipated." The work
> is difficult and slow, but it is being accomplished,
> and here is an open door to us Bahais of the
> West, a practical way of service, for through our
> co-operation our brothers and sisters in the
> East will be helped and encouraged, and through
> unity with us they wi11learn many things. On
> the other hand, we will ourselves receive more
> abundantly than we give. The East has much
> to give to the West, as well as the West has
> much to give to the East. This interchange will
> take place as the two come together in spiritual
> unity and in practical service one to the other.
> In Persia one meets people who, after long or
> brief sojourns in western Europe, have accumu-
> lated certain western ideas, which they have
> mingled with those of Persian origin, producing
> a mixture neither one thing nor the other,
> occidental nor oriental-ideas which are not ap-
> plicable to conditions in Persia, because they are
> 106                      OBSERVATIONS OF
> the products of a foreign civilization evolved un-
> der foreign conditions.
> One of the most interesting characters we met
> in Persia was a certain khanum (lady) of Te-
> heran, a woman of ability as a leader of women.
> For some time past she had been working as-
> siduously for the spread of the Bahai cause
> among women, and for the education and gen-
> eral uplifting of her sex.
> What was most interesting in the working of
> the Bahai movement in Persia was that it was
> solving present-day problems in the only prac-
> tical way, namely, by working from within out-
> by quickening the soul, from which is begotten
> the desire for knowledge and its accompanying
> advantages.
> This was exemplified in the work of the kha-
> num whom I have mentioned. She was an en-
> lightened soul, holding advanced ideas, not
> gleaned from foreign sources, but evolved
> through personal work and service. She was
> wholly a product of Persia and was, therefore,
> able to understand and to minister unto the
> needs of those among whom she labored.
> I must describe a meeting which we attended
> at the house of the khanum mentioned, since it
> A BAHAI TRAVELLER                              10'7
> gave us a glimpse of oriental life and conditions
> hitherto not seen. Our hostess had for some
> time past discarded her veil and with her hus-
> band received men in her house and garden, yet
> she was obliged, as she explained to us, to veil
> in the streets on acount of attracting too much
> attention. On this particular afternoon she was
> holding two receptions at once. Twenty or
> more of us men were in one room, while in an
> adjoining room, separated from us by a curtain.
> was a party of twelve or fifteen ladies, our
> hostess slipping quietly from one room to the
> other. serving and entertaining her guests.
> After the chanting of tablets. my companion
> and I were asked to tell the ladies in the next
> room something about their sisters in the West,
> which we did to the best of our ability. he speak-
> ing in Persian while my words were translated
> and spoken through the curtain to the listeners
> on the other side. Our hostess, it seemed. had
> hoped that the women in the next room would
> on that day follow her example and unveil. As
> we spoke of the freedom and independence and
> higher education of woman in the West, the kha-
> num became more and more enthusiastic until,
> finally, she went toward the doorway and draw-
> 108                       OBSERVATIONS OF
> ing the curtain began speaking very earnestly
> to the people in the next room. I could not un-
> derstand her words but so stirring was the tone
> of her voice that I caught the spirit of what she
> was saying. She was calling to her sisters to
> come forth and lift their veils, saying that it was
> a rare opportunity to do so then. since we from
> the West were there, who were accustomed to
> seeing women's faces. At the expiration of sev-
> eral minutes her words had the desired effect,
> for the women arose and drawing aside their
> veils with one accord. entered the room.
> The men made place for the ladies by retreat-
> ing to the other side of the room, while the new-
> comers found seats. When the women had
> arisen to the situation, they were quite equal to
> it. Curious as this may seem to one accustomed
> to western conventionalities. it showed that
> these women were awake to the advantages of
> the western women as well as to their own dis-
> advantage. I was particularly impressed by the
> possibilities for work among the women of Per-
> sia by the Bahai women of the West. The
> eagerness with which these women listened to
> our account of western life in itself showed that
> A BAHAI TRAVELLER                           109
> the time was ripe and that they were anxious
> and waiting to be taught.
> As we were leaving the house, the khanum
> took from her neck an interesting necklace of
> mother of pearl and silver, a gift to her from a
> princess of the royal household, and handed it
> to me, saying that it was for the Bahai women
> in America, and with it went the love and greet-
> ing of the Bahai maid-servants in Teheran. On
> my return to America, I entrusted this souvenir
> to the care of Mrs. Isabella D. Brittingham, who
> has already organized a system of correspond-
> ence between some of the meetings of Bahai
> women in America with gatherings of women in
> various cities in Persia. This is but the begin-
> ning of a great work for the women of our west-
> ern assemblies to do among their sisters of the
> East. Through correspondence the way will be
> opened for western women to go to those dis-
> tant parts as teachers, nurses, physicians, and
> what they will be able to accomplish cannot be
> estimated.
> 
> One very interesting morning was spent in
> visiting one of the leading boys' schools in Te-
> heran. On account of the attitude of the Mos-
> 110                      OBSERVATIONS OF
> lems, this institution is not known generally as
> a Bahai school. However, it is in reality in the
> hands of the Bahais. From the directors down
> through the teachers and students the majority
> were of our faith. We were taken around
> through the various class rooms, where over'
> two hundred boys wer'e engaged in reciting and
> study. Before starting on our travels, my friend
> had planned to remain for some time in Teheran,
> so he was very much pleased when told that they
> needed a teacher of English in this school and
> he was glad to undertake the work. Shortly
> after I left Teheran, his duties as teacher there
> commenced. I understand that in other parts
> of Persia teachers of English are needed among
> the Bahais. Undoubtedly, in the near future,
> the way will be open for Bahais from the West
> to go to the East to fill these positions. This is
> a good field for work in the cause, since the peo-
> ple there are greatly helped and strengthened by
> intercourse with the western Bahais.
> One Saturday afternoon, about an hour before
> sunset, we were conducted through the bazaars
> to the Jewish quarter to the house of a certain
> doctor, where a hundred and more of Israelitish
> Bahais were gathered to welcome us. During
> A BAHAI TRAVELLER                            111
> the walk thither, we passed a place of Bahai in-
> terest, namely, the house where Abdul-Baha was
> born on May 23, 1844, the same day upon which
> The Bab declared HimseU. At the end of a
> street one can see a small second-story arcade,
> behind which is the room in which our great
> teacher first saw the light of this world. This
> house was not open to us, so we gazed upon it
> from without for a few moments and then
> passed on.
> Although there are no lines of distinction
> whatever between the Bahais, yet, in places
> where persecution exists, those previously of a
> like faith meet together, not wishing to at-
> tract too much attention. In Teheran there are
> between twenty and thirty weekly meetings held
> in various quarters of the city, so that all may
> easily participate. The Jewish meeting which I
> mention was composed chiefly of Jewish Be-
> lievers, but there were also present Christians,
> Moslems and Zoroastrians. In Persia there is a
> type of Jew which we in the West seldom see.
> There the Jews have lived in their communities
> for centuries,. and consequently have kept their
> original type and spirit less changed than those
> who have lived for generations wandering
> 112                       OBSERVATIONS OF
> amongst the various nations of the world. Like
> their orthodox brethren in the West, the Jews
> in Persia have retained their ancient faith in the
> fulfillment of the prophecies of their scriptures.
> and they look for the Messiah and the regenera-
> tion of the whole world. This has made them
> particularly open to the Bahai Message, and in
> places there are whole communities of them
> who have accepted the faith. Hamadan is the
> chief center of Jewish Bahais in Persia. Here
> they have their own schools and are carrying on
> other active and progressive works.
> At the Jewish meeting I mentioned, several
> of the older men in long robes and turbans
> spoke, welcoming us and expressing their joy at
> uniting spiritually with us in accepting Baha-
> 'Q'llah as the promised latter-day Messiah}
> through whose teaching they now accept the
> Christ whom their forefathers rejected. This
> meeting was one of the most memorable of our
> travels. The reunion over, a dinner was served,
> after which we mounted to a terraced roof.
> Here mats, rugs, cushions and bedding had been
> spread, and it was not long before each had made
> himself comfortable for the night. I lay awake
> for some time looking up at the stars and think-
> A BAHAI TRAVELLER                             113
> ing of the significance of that evening's gather-
> ing. This was the beginning of the time when
> all peoples, Jew and Gentile, will be united in
> His kingdom.
> The first large meeting of Bahais which we
> attended in Teheran was a Zoroastrain or Par-
> see reunion. This was held in a garden belong-
> ing to a friend of the cause-a garden which was
> the most beautiful I visited while in Persia, hav-
> ing artificial lakes, surrounded and separated by
> forest trees, vistas extending off toward the
> north, affording views of the distant mountains
> highest of which towered Mount Damovend
> with its mantle of snow and ice. A series of
> avenues and walks flanked by water-ways and
> flower beds, formed a beautiful setting for the
> two palaces and several pavilions which were in
> the midst of the garden. The place of meeting
> was under the broad portico of the smaller of
> the two palaces, which was originally built by
> the unfortunate Atabok-Azam (who died by the
> assassin's hand), Prime Minister to the late
> Mozaffer-Ed-Din-Shah. The pavement of the
> portico was carpeted and chairs were placed
> about for some of the guests, others sitting down
> Persian fashion on the rugs. One of the features
> 114                      OBSERVATIONS OF
> ofá the meeting was the chanting of an original
> poem of welcome to us, which was written by
> one of the friends-the whole assembly joining
> in the refrain. Several of the friends present
> spoke to us regarding the Zoroastrain prophe-
> cies which were fulfilled in the coming of The
> Bab and Baha' o'llah, and explained that in the
> Zoroastrian teaching the final unity of all people
> was taught and that now the Zoroastrians were
> accepting the Bahai teaching as that which their
> people had long hoped to realize-the uniting of
> all men in the brotherhood of the kingdom
> 
> On another like occasion, in the afternoon, we
> met in another garden, where a large number of
> Moslem Bahais were gathered to greet us. Be-
> cause of the crowd all could not be accommo-
> da ted in anyone place, so they were grouped in
> various parts of the garden thus forming several
> centers. As the twilight fell, lamps were placed
> about the fountains and along the walks, and
> then the chanting began. We sat near a basin
> of water about which were grouped many men,
> soldiers from the Shah's cossaque guard, in their
> -red uniforms, while their officers wore blue, to-
> gether with men wearing robes of many and
> A BAHAI TRA"VELLER                             115
> varied colors. These and the lights with their
> reflection in the water, the natural beauty of the
> place, the distant strains of ch~nting which
> reached our ears alternately from the various
> groups of friends scattered throughout the gar-
> den. made an impression which will long remain
> with me.
> Here among the M oslern Bahais we heard the
> same story of how they believed because of their
> own prophecies which foretold the coming of the
> Lord in these latter days and the establishment
> of His kingdom. In many ways they expressed
> their joy and satisfaction at having us with them.
> One remarked to me that more of the joy of the
> kingdom was realized when those of different
> faiths were brought together in this cause. than
> by the uniting of those who had previously held
> the same faith. In the East, where the devotees
> of the various religions hate One another so cor-
> dially, the contrast is indeed striking when we
> see them uniting in the Bahai cause and frater-
> nizing as members of one family.
> 
> One of the friends who entertained us, a Jew-
> ish doctor, together with another Jewish physi-
> cian, is running a dispensary and hospital in Te-
> 116                       QBSERVATIQ)l"S OF
> heran. One morning we went there for a visit.
> A cheerful court~yard with its fountain and flow-
> . ers from which opened the various rooms of the
> building with their accommodation for twenty-
> eight patients, formed the necessary elements of
> a hospital-an institution of which Persia is
> much in need. Comparing this hospital with
> ours in the West, it seemed very primitive but,
> considering the conditions of the country it was
> far, far beyond the local standard of hygiene in
> its appointments. These friends are laboring
> under great difficulties, as do all those who try
> to lift the masses of inert humanity in the East.
> Nevertheless, their work is gaining in proportion
> and in momentum. They, too, need the helping
> hand of the wáestern friends. A Bahai woman
> physician working with them could accomplish
> much, both of a spiritual as well as a physical
> nature. She could reach the women and the
> inner life of the peopl~ by ways not open in the
> East to men of the profession, and through ser-
> vice and example her influence as an educator
> would be far-reaching.
> After the work of ministering to the health
> of the people in Persia, the most important thing
> to be undertaken is the teaching of industries.
> HADJE!': AMEE~ A~D IIADJEE ~~KHOU~T
> TWO lLUH.IS DU'RISONEn FOR THEIR FAITH.
> A BAIL'\'I TRAVELLER                           117
> There is a great field for industrial work in all
> parts of that country. Persia is rich in mineral
> deposits and in other natural resources. These
> must be developed, and for the best good of all
> must be developed by the people themselves.
> That they might do so they must first be taught.
> N ow the sons of the wealthy go from Persia to
> the various capitals of Europe for educational
> purposes, but that is not practical nor sufficient.
> It is necessary that special and advanced educa-
> tion be placed within the reach of the mass of
> the people. To the young brought up in the
> simplicity of Oriental surroundings life in a
> European metropolis is filled with temptations
> which he is not prepared to withstand. Thus
> many, after years of schooling abroad, lose their
> natural charm and simplicity, without having ac-
> quired the real virtues of the West. They fall
> away from their own country and people and at
> the same time are not fitted for life in western
> countries.
> The salvation of Persia must-like that of all
> peoples-he worked out from within. She has
> great possibilities, and through the practical edu-
> cation of her sons and daughters she will lift
> herself to her ancient prosperity and place
> 118                      OBSERVATIONS OF
> among the great nations of the world. Now her
> vital moral forces are spent. corruption, oppres-
> sion and laxity of morals hold despotic sway
> .
> ovet:' her people, keeping them down to the earth.
> Her predominating religion, that of Islam, once
> so powerful a factor for the betterment of the
> Orient, has lost its power as a religion and noth-
> ing of it remains save creed, dogma and fanati-
> cism. The only thing which can rejuvenate Per-
> sia and save her is a spiritual uplift that shall
> quicken the soul of her people and infuse into
> them that force needed to redeem it.
> In Persia the Bahais are laying the foundation
> of this great national uplift, but they are now
> at a point where they need the co-operation of
> the Bahais of the West. The more we in the
> West correspond with our brothers in the
> Orient, the more we go there to travel and to
> live and work among them, the more we will be
> helping them in their great task of bettering hu-
> manity.
> 
> At last the day appointed for me to take leave
> of my American brother and the other friends
> arrived. I was loath to tum westward, but my
> vacation was limited and, as Abdul-Baha, in
> A BAHAI TRAVELLER                           119
> Akka had asked me to return to see him On my
> way home I felt I must be off. At an early hour
> I was taken with my luggage to the b_:den with-
> out the city, where we had been entertained on
> the day of our arrival. Here the day was spent
> in one continuous reception, for almost every
> one of the hundreds we had met in Teheran
> joined the gathering at some time during the
> protracted festivities. At noon we all walked
> to one end of the garden, where the ground was
> covered with mats and rugs upon which were
> spread in Persian fashion cloths laden with food
> and flowers. Sitting about on the ground we
> lunched, after which we had a nap under the
> shelter of a summer house, followed by tea and
> more feasting. Shortly before dusk we parted
> with all save about twenty of our friends, who
> accompanied us into the city to the near-by
> house of a Bahai, where we spent the evening in
> conversation, dining at the usual hour of eleven
> o'clock.
> Mirza Taghi Khan, our constant companion
> since the Krasnovodsk affair, was now returning
> to Eshkhabad, which was fortunate for me, for
> our ways lay together again from Teheran to
> Baku. A little after midnight our carriage was
> 120                      OBSERVATIONS OF
> announced and, with the assistance of many
> hands, we were soon settled therein with our ar-
> ticles of luggage about us, and after many
> adieus we left this little group of friends stand-
> in~;in the flickering torchlight looking after us
> as the carriage rolled away.
> A few minutes brought us to the Khazvin
> gate, where with some difficulty our coachman
> aroused the sleepy turnkey, who, staggering to
> his feet. unlocked and opened the ponderous city
> gates, which. with a rattling of chains and a
> clanking of bars. closed on us as we drove forth
> into the night. Another starry night it was. too.
> Far off in the west hung low upon the horizon a
> brilliant planet which seemed as a guiding star,
> indicating. as of old, the direction of the Holy
> Land.
> 
> The down journey from Teheran to Resht
> was quite the same in character as had been the
> up journey; we were greeted by the same friends
> and in the same hospitable way. The drive was
> broken only at Khazvin, where we spent two
> days and a night with our friend, the doctor.
> Hearing of our coming, he met us on the road as
> before and escorted us into the city. This time
> A BAHAI TRAVELLER                            121
> we were in open carriages and it not being wise
> for us to be seen together, we parted just with-
> out the city walls, his carriage entering by one
> gate, ours by another. This time while in Khaz-
> vin, I had the opportunity of visiting the Bahai
> school. in which about fifty young boys were
> studying under the supervision of instructors.
> One of these teachers spoke French fluently and
> he acted as interpreter for me during the visit.
> An unbroken ride of thirty-six hours brought
> us from Khazvin to Resht, where we arrived the
> middle of the morning. The steamer by which
> we expected to sail was booked to leave Enzalee
> at ten thirty that night. After discussing the
> situation with the friends we decided to drive
> the twenty-two miles from Resht to Enzalee
> over a turnpike which traverses the marshes and
> lowlands separating Resht from the port. The
> Believers could not comprehend why we should
> arrive and leave both in the same day and it was
> with some difficulty that we begged off from re~
> maining three days until the sailing of the next
> steamer.
> Accordingly, after an unavoidable delay, we
> set out. The further we drove the worse became
> the road, until, finally, the horses could hardly
> 122                      OBSERVATIONS OF
> draw the carriage, the wheels of which were half
> way up to their hubs in sand and loose earth.
> Thus so much time was lost that we did not
> reach Enzalee until the steamer had sailed. The
> only thing to do was to return to Resht. Leav~
> ing at midnight we drove all night~ arriving at
> Resht at daybreak. It was our third night in a
> carriage, and between the mosquitoes and in~
> sects, a drenching fog and mist which rolled in
> from the sea, and the dismal cries of jackals with
> which the forests abounded. we had a bad night
> of it. In Resht, instead of being dismayed at
> our plight, our friends rejoiced at the prospect
> of a continued visit, and in the end I was not at
> all sorry for the experience. for we had three
> more pleasant days in Persia. On the third day,
> in good season, three of our friends escorted us
> to Enzalee and saw us safely on board the steam-
> er for Baku..
> On the quay in Baku, we were met by several
> friends, who had been notified of our coming.
> Remaining here but a few hours, I parted with
> my faithful friend and traveling companion, Mir-
> za Taghi Khan, and bidding good~bye to the
> other friends, traveled westward by rail through
> Caucasia to Tiflis and to Baturn on the Black
> A BAHAI TRAVELLER                              123
> Sea. In Batum I spent three very pleasant days
> with Believers. Here I was joined by a young
> man from Teheran, whom I had met during my
> first visit to Khazvin, at which time he was on
> his way to Resht and Baku. We had hoped to
> meet at some point along the line of travel beá
> tween Persia and Akka, since we were both
> bound for the Holy Land. Boarding a steamer
> we touched along the ports of Armenia, arriving
> at Constantinople at the end of four days.
> While I was in Persia, the news reached us
> that a constitutional form of govemment had
> been declared in Turkey. Everywhere the Baá
> hais were enthusiastic over th.:.s change, for they
> knew that with the passing of the old regime of
> despotism, the troubles which had for so many
> years harassed our leader, AbduláBaha, would
> be at an end. On arriving in Constantinople I
> found great changes taking place. My former
> visits there had given me a decided dislike for
> the place. The corruptness of all branches of
> the government made it impossible to transact
> any business without bribery. The general cor-
> ruption of the country was apparent at everJ
> tum. This was particularly noticeable in the
> attitude and bearing of the people. Spied upon,
> OBSERVATIONS OF
> maltreated, and oppressed, they were con-
> strained, fearful, and suspicious. Now, how-
> ever, all seemed quite different. The people
> were light-hearted and free, singing songs of
> liberty and praising the constitution. Newspa-
> pers and printed matter, hitherto subject to con-
> fiscation, were free to all. There seemed to be
> an entire change in the very character and soul
> of the people. During our stay of two days in
> Constantinople, we met freely with the Oriental
> Bahais there, they no longer' fearing trouble,
> since the constitution gave the people religious
> freedom.
> From Constantinople, my Persian friend and I
> took ship for Smyrna, where we made a brief
> stay, again sailing by a vessel which landed us
> in Beirut. The nearer we approached Akka the
> more elated we found our friends. In Syria the
> changes brought about by the constitution
> seemed greater than those in Turkey, but prob-
> ably this was only apparent to us because here
> we had more vital interests than at the capital.
> The officials, who had oppressed Abdul-Baha
> and his people, were no longer in power. Some
> had fled, barely escaping with their lives; others
> disappeared, while yet others were in prison.
> A BAHAI TRAVELLER                               125
> The oppressors had been dealt with as they had
> dealt with others.
> The joy of the Bahais was a pleasure to see-
> especially that of the older men, who had sur-
> vived years of hardship and oppression in the
> cause. It was here in Beirut that we first learned
> of Abdul-Baha's freedom, for, with the going
> into force of the constitution, all of the political
> prisoners throughout the realm were liberated,
> and just before our arrival in the country he had
> teen officially notified of his freedom.
> After a visit of four days with the friends in
> Beirut, we embarked for Haifa. On arrival
> there, instead of having to awa;t for favorable
> conditions under which to enter Akka, as had
> always been necessary in the past, we drove
> from the quay directly to the house of Abdul-
> Baha, where we were most graciously received.
> Although this was not my first visit to Akka, it
> was the first time that I had seen anything
> worthy of mention of the city. I went about as
> a sight-seer. Wearing a tarboosh (fez) and an
> a~}a (cloak) with several Oriental friends, I even
> penetrated into the precincts of the mosque. On
> another occasion a number of us took a stroll
> over the plain of Akka, visiting the cemeteries
> 126                       OBSERVATIONS OF
> near the city, where are the tombs of Abdul-
> Baha's mother, brother, and many of the original
> exiles who came to that country in captivity with
> Baha'o'llah.
> One night I went to the pilgrims' house in
> Akka, where the Oriental friends are usually en-
> tertained. A long walk through dark streets
> flanked with high buildings, and so narrow they
> seemed like crevices in the crust of the earth,
> brought us to an old caravanserai on the side of
> the city opposite to that where Abdul-Baha
> lived. In the upper part of this building, with
> windows and balconies overlooking the sea and
> Mount Carmel in the distance, are the rooms
> where the pilgrims are lodged and where several
> of the Bahai men live. Here we met Hadji Mir-
> za Heyder Ali, a well known Bahai teacher, who
> spent twelve years in exile for his faith in Khar-
> toum, until freed when the English, under Gor-
> don, entered the city. He is now well along in
> years and, though feeble in body, is spiritually
> young and active. When asked about his suf-
> ferings in the cause, he was at first not very
> communicative, but later on he told me some of
> his experiences.
> Abdul-Baha was, as might have been expected,
> A BAHAl TRAVELLER                              127
> happy because of the freedom and liberty of the
> people. As for himself, personally, one did not
> feel that the change made very much difference
> one way or another. He seemed removed from
> the possibility of being hampered by ca1a~ty or
> uplifted by fortune.
> Many people have asked me how Abdul-Baha
> impressed me. I should hardly use the word
> "impress" in connection wit.; him. An impres-
> sion is something v.-!~ich Is imprinted upon one
> from without. Ris h\f1ue~ce is not that of one
> personality upon <:U.iotber. Through contact
> with him the soul responds, is quickened and re-
> freshed by his spirit of love, humility: service to
> humanity, and all other kindred virtues. This
> soul-quickening then produces its regenerating
> effect upon the character and soul of the individ-
> ual, working from within outward.
> Each time I have gone to Akka I have nat-
> urally carried with me a conception or a mental
> picture of Abdul-Baha, and each time I have
> been obliged to lay this aside in order to find a
> larger and higher one. He has remained un-
> changed, while my vision has been a changing
> and growing one. Surely, if one were to go to
> him twenty times, each successive time he would
> 128                       OBSERVATIONS OF
> appear different. It is, therefore, better not to
> cling to preconceived ideas, for unless these all
> be laid aside the spirit of Baha'o'llah which ema-
> nates from him, cannot enter and evolve within
> us and shape us anew.
> Abdul-Baha is a physician, who is healing the
> spiritual diseases of man. He sees and under-
> stands all conditions of the soul and gives to
> each just what that soul needs. His teaching is
> simplicity itself. The gospel of love he makes
> very real through living the life of God's servant
> among men. His words and explanations are so
> simple that oftentimes people may at first feel a
> pang of disappointment, expecting abtruse theo-
> ries and explanations, but, when they begin to
> realize the force of the spirit which characterizes
> Abdul-Baha's life, then they see the real power
> of his teaching, realizing how much greater is
> this than philosophizing.
> Abdul-Baha teaches that it is through mani-
> festing the joy and giving forth the love of the
> kingdom that the Bahais will attract hungry
> souls and be able to lead them to the kingdom.
> We should be fearless and enthusiastic as he is.
> We must not think of ourselves nor consider our
> feelings nor our welfare before that of serving
> A BAHAI TRAVELLER                                                 129
> the Lord. We should not be constrained, but
> should manifest to all, frankly and freely. the
> love of God which we have in our hearts. The
> more of this love we give forth, the mare of it
> will be ours to give. There should be no hold-
> ing back; we must actively serve the Lord in
> every phase of life, since service is the necessary
> adjl.mct of belief and faith, and without works
> these latter are as naught.
> Abdul-Baha's life is essentially one of service.
> His mission here is to teach us this. Only in
> following in his path of daily loving service to
> those about us will we become strong in spirit
> and fitted to act as stewards of the Lord. We
> must at all times increase actions, for our words
> when backed by spiritual actions will not lack
> force but will produce spiritual results in the
> souls of those who hear them.
> Abdul-Baha sends his greeting and love to
> the Bahais in the West. In reply to a question
> regarding the House of Justice,* he said that the
> House of Justice was not yet established; that
> for the present there were only local Bahai gov-
> erning bodies, but that in time we would have a
> .Th. teachings of Baha'o'llab provide for the central spiritual body-
> tbe House of Justice. It. rcemlier. will b. choseD from th~ people by
> the people.
> 130                      OBSERVATIONS OF
> great central convocation composed of members
> from all parts of the world. This, the House of
> Justice, will convene at stated times. Its func-
> tion is administrative; it will, in the spirit of
> oneness and unity, pass and decide upon matters
> of moment in the cause, its united action being
> acceptable before God. Abdul-Baha said that
> he himself was not under the House of Justice,
> yet he furthermore said that whatever the Be-
> lievers agreed upon unanimously he would sub-
> scribe to, but this was because of his desire to
> promote harmony, not that he is subject to the
> followers.
> 
> The day that I left Akka for the West the
> friends had planned an out-of-door feast in the
> garden of El-Rizwan, which is not far without
> the city. After parting with Abdul-Baha and re-
> ceiving his blessing, in company with an Oriental
> friend I drove to the tomb of Baha'o'llah, so sa-
> cred to His followers, which is at Beh ji, near
> Akka. Entering the court of the tomb, we re-
> mained for some moments while a tablet was
> chanted; then, entering the tomb chamber we
> knelt in silent prayer.
> A BAHAl TRAVELIJER                            131
> From Beh ji we drove to the garden of EI-
> Rizwan. where a large number of the Bahais of
> the vicinity were assembled. After taking tea
> and other light refreshments with these friends,
> seated under the mulberry trees on the terrace
> beside the river, where Baha'o'llah spent so much
> time, we had a parting word, a prayer chanted,
> and many good-byes. Here I left the young
> man from Teheran who had been my traveling
> companion for the three weeks past He had
> indeed been a friend and typified devotion itself;
> from him I learned another lesson not taught
> by word but through example.
> Laden with messages of love and greeting to
> the friends in the West, I started for Haifa,
> where I arrived just in time to catch an evening
> steamer for Port Said. From Port Said I went
> on to Paris, via Messina and Marseilles, where
> I spent five days with the Believers. Here! met
> with our well-known friend, M. Ahmed Yazdi,
> of Port Said, with whom I went to London, in
> which city we spent five days with the friends
> before going to Oxford, where Mrs. Stannard
> and Miss Rosenberg, both of the London as-
> sembly, were attending a congress for the com-
> parative study of religion. Miss Rosenberg rep-
> 132                      OBSERVATIONS OF
> resented the Bahai Movement at this convoca-
> tion and read a paper which was well received.
> Parting with M. Yazdi, and sailing from Liv-
> erpool, I landed in Quebec, and after brief visits
> with the Bahais in Montreal and New York
> found myself back again in Washington after an
> absence of almost six months.
> 
> The Persian Bahais have those very elements
> of spiritual virtue which we in this country
> need. There is a devotion and a fraternity
> amongst them which is most beautiful. This is
> needed in the West. During my trip through
> the East, I had such a wealth of devotion and
> brotherly affection poured out upon me that I
> could actually see and feel its effect. It had re-
> freshed my very soul and quite changed my at-
> titude toward people in general.
> This spirit of Bahai love, so intense in Persia~
> softens and strengthens one's nature. It makes
> the strong stronger, the weak more firm and
> steadfast, and it refines man making him more
> susceptible, and impenetrable to evil. It gives
> the believer the power to enter into the lives of
> A BAHAI TRAVELLER                            133
> others and to impart to them the desire to know
> the truth and the power to arise in service. This
> is what we all need in greater abundance, is
> that which Abdul-Baha is giving to us, and it is
> that which we must attain through following in
> his path of service to God and mankind.
> 
> Finis.
> NOTICE.
> 
> Copies of this book are sold for sixty cents
> each; postage paid to any part of the world, ten
> cents additional.
> Address aU orders to
> The Bahai Publishing- Society.
> Miss Mary Lesch,
> P. O. Box 283t
> Chicago, Ill., U. S. A.
> PRICE LIST OF PUBLICATIONS OF THE
> BAHAI REVELATION.
> WORDS OF BAHA'O'LLAH.
> 
> The Book of,Ighan (Certainty). 190 pages,
> bound in cloth. '.' . . . . .. . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . $1.00
> Postage lOc additionaL
> The Tarazet and other" Tablets. 92 pages bound
> in- paper ..                     I-   •   •    ..   II    •    •   ..$.50...   _     ..    ..       ..    ..    •    ...       ...       'II   ...    ..   . . . . -II   ..   ..    ,    Ii'    .. ' . .       •
> 
> Surat-u1~HykL (The discourse on the Temple.)
> 83 pages, bound in paper. . . .....•. '. . . . .. $.25
> The Tablet of Ishrakat. 45 pages, bound in pa-
> per . . . . . . . . . . . . _                                     $.25
> III    •    ...   III   •        •     ..    •     ..        ..        II    .....         ..    ..   ..   •     ..    •     ..    •
> 
> The Seven VaBeys. 88 pages, bound in pa-
> per .........................................................     $. 25                                                                                                              III    "II   .....
> 
> Same bound in leather, gilt edges ......... $1.00
> The Hidden Words. 102 pages, bound in pa-
> per .   I   •   •   ...   •        .....   I-    ..   ..   ..   • $.15
> ..     ..   ..    ..    I        ..    III   •     •         •         •     ..    •    ••       ,.        ..   ..     ..    ...   I
> 
> Same bound in leather, gilt edges ......... $1.00
> Lawh-e1-Akdas, Kitab-el-Ahd. By Baha'o'llah.
> 5c each
> ADDRESSES OF ABDUL-BAHA.
> Some Answered Questions. By Laura Clifford
> Bamey. 358 pages, bound in cloth ..... $1.50
> Postage 15c additional.
> Tablets of Abdul-Baha-VoL 1. 238 pages,
> bound in cloth ........................ $1 ..00
> Postage 16c additional.
> Abdul-Baha's Addresses in P;aris. Bound in paá
> per .......".          III   ..........   I   •••   "   ••   "   ...   oil          $.7-5
> ...............   ..
> 
> Postage lie additional.
> Abdul-Baha's Addresses in London. Bound in
> pa.per 10". • • • .. .. .. •• .. .. • .. ... .. • .. .. .. • II.. . . . . . . . . . $.40
> Postage 5c additional.
> Mysterious Forces of Civilization ......... $1.00
> Postage lOe additional.
> WRITINGS BY ORIENTAL AND OCCI-
> DENTAL BAHAIS.
> Bahai Proofs by Mirza Abu! Fazl. ........ $1.00
> Postage tOe additional
> The Brilliant Proof. By Mirza Abul Fazl Gul-
> paygan. Bound in paper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $.15
> The Univcr$al Religion. By M. Hippolyte
> Dreyfus. 176 pages, bound in paper .... $1.00
> Postage lOe additional.
> The Bahai Revelation. By Thornton Chase.
> 187 pages, bound in paper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . $.00
> Postage lOe additional.
> In Galilee. By Thornton Chase. 84 pages,
> bound in paper, illustrated .............. $.25
> The Bahai Movement. By Cbas. Mason Remey.
> Bound in cloth. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $.50
> Postage lOe additional.
> Observations of a:J.Iahai Traveler. By. Chas.
> Mason Remey. mustrated and hound in
> clO'th .........................                           ~ $.80
> II-   ...... _.......... " • • •                                      •   ...
> 
> Postage lOe: additional.
> Dawn of Knowledge and the l(ost Great Peace.
> By Paul Kingston Dealy. "pages, bound in
> paper . . . . . . . .II'   •   I   •   ...   ..   •   ..   ..   $. 15
> ..    •   •   •   •   ..   ..   ..   •   ..   •   ..   ...   ..   •   •   •
> 
> The Revelation of Baha'o'llah. By Mrs. Isa-
> bella D. Brittingham. 32 pages, bound in
> paper ................. " ................................... $.10                                                                         t
> 
> Martyrdom in Persia in 1808. By Hadji Mirza
> Hayder Ali. 11 pages, bound in paper .... $.10
> The Oriental Rose. By Mary Hanford Ford.
> Bound in cloth.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $.80
> Ten Days in the Light of Acea. By Mrs. Julia
> M. Grundy." 111 pages, bound in. paper .. $.25
> Daily Lessons Received at Acca. By Mrs.
> Goodall and Mrs. Cooper. 80 pages, bound in
> pa})el" ••••••••••••••••• • •••••••••• • •••• $.20
> My Visit to Abbas Effendi (Abdul-Baha) in 1889.
> By Mrs. Margaret B. Peeke. Bound in pa-
> per ................................... $.15
> Unity Through Love. By Howard MacNutt.
> 32 page~ bound in paper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $.10
> Table Talks with Abdul-Baha. By Mr. andá Mrs.
> George T. Winterburn. 32 pages, bound in
> paper ... "...    III   oil   .....   II   .....   'II   $.10
> ..............   .,   .....
> 
> My Visit to Acca. By Mrs. Mary L. Lucas. 42
> pages, bound in paper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $.10
> Flowers from the Rose Garden of Acca. By
> Mrs. Finch and Misses Knobloch. 40 pages,
> bound in paper ........................ $.10
> MISCELLANEOUS.
> Portfolio of Views of The Holy Land. 18 col-
> ored sheets, heavy paper cover ......... $1.00
> With portrait of Abdul-Baha, cloth cover. $1.25
> Songs of Prayer and Praise. Strongly bound,
> $.10
> Distributed by the
> BAHAI PUBLISHING SOCIETY.
> Address all orders to
> Miss Mary Lesch,
> P. O. Box 283,
> Chicago, Dl., U. S. A.
>
> — *Observations of a Baha'i Traveller, 1908 (Used by permission of the curator)*