The luck of the Irish

We have returned from a fabulous week in Ireland where we attended the annual Summer School organized by the Irish Bahá’í community— this was one goal we set ourselves while serving in the Holy Land. The venue was Waterford, famous for its crystal, some 150km south of Dublin. It had been raining for three solid weeks prior to our arrival and the weather forecast was for more to come. We were quite interested to see this phenomenon called rain as we have had none in Haifa since April and we probably won’t see any until November or December. But Dublin turned out a dry cloudy day for our arrival and our bus from the airport took us through the old part of town with its mix of old and new. Everywhere, flower boxes hanging from 2nd and 3rd floor windows created a gorgeous cascade of colour. Our whole week then turned out to be sunny and warm – 18 to 20C— which is all it takes for the Irish to get into shorts and eat ice cream! The old joke – it only rains twice a week in Ireland, once for 4 days and the other for 3 days – certainly did not hold true for this week!

Waterford is best reached by train, and our taxi ride to Heuston station turned out to be a guided tour of Dublin as the driver pointed out many points of historical interest— what a different picture one has compared to the view of Ireland during the bad days of sectarian fighting. The 2½ hours train journey was made all the more pleasant by the company of Sahba Naraqi, a lovely lass who used to serve in Haifa. Allan chatted with a local guy (who was a mine of information!) and again obtained a history of the region— the Irish appear to be as friendly us Aussies. You can see Dawn and Larry Staudt having a cuppa with us - they are good friends of the Hencks who serve in Haifa.Around 600 participants attended the Summer School; we both gave presentations to the main adult sessions as well as the youth (the children and junior youth had a lucky escape!!!). The Bahá’ís of Ireland certainly know how to have fun and stay up all hours! Entertainment started at 10p. Sahar and Luke sang beautifully at a morning devotional with children ayouth and adults. and the day’s sessions started at 9:45am—all in a very relaxed atmosphere. It was great to see so much talent— afternoons were devoted to the arts and after a siesta, Allan enjoyed a creative writing course, while Muna just read and napped. As expected, we met many people with whom we had friends in common. A week filled with joy and laughter ensured that we returned to Haifa rested and replenished.

July and August are typically the hottest and most humid months in Haifa; so many activities revert indoors or take place in the morning or evening. We have had some wonderful lunches and dinners with friends and have continued giving classes. Some youth came over for brunch and a study class very recently. Two youth—Rashel Jahangirian and Mona Manouchehri—will be readily recognizable as they have recently come from Perth to serve. Muna made some Arabic style food as well as her famous scones.

Allan has a new staff member, Vahid, in the Office and we hosted a welcome dinner for him. Originally from Saipan in the Mariana Islands, Vahid has completed studies in English literature and brings a real strength to the Office. Edward and Noel Broomhall, friends from Tasmania/Australia, came to Haifa for six weeks in May and June and this presented an opportunity to take them to some places we have not been to. One was Tsfat (Safad), a very Jewish town in the north of Israel, fairly elevated (and thus cooler in summer) and famous for its many artist shops and galleries in the old souq (market). You can still see evidence - bullet holes - on this building of the fighting that took place in this town. There are two places that make amazing candles. This is a rendition of Noah and the ark. Some candles stand meters tall. Here are a few photos to give you a flavour of the town. This photo is inside a very old Jewish Synagogue – you can see that the Jews do not throw away Holy books – they are stored in cupboards until they return to dust. We visited a potter friend of the Broomhall’s (from UK) and marveled at his skill.

We also visited an old crusader fort at Yehiam, which is well preserved and offers majestic views stretching towards Lebanon and the Mediterranean. There is a Byzantine burial chamber and the advertising shows a much more recent presence! A narrow staircase leads up five flights of stairs to the fortress look-out and a breath-taking view! As the weather cools down a bit we look forward to more travelling - being out and about in Israel - discovering new places and revisiting spots that we really like.