August 1868: Baha’u’llah arrives in Haifa

Baha’u’llah first landed in Haifa on 31 August 1868 after His journey of eleven days from Gallipoli by steamer. He and His companions were transferred from the steamer to a sailing vessel which carried them to 'Akka. Baha’u’llah visited Haifa three more times: in August 1883, in April 1890, and in the summer of 1891 for about three months. It was during this last visit that He revealed the Tablet of Carmel and pointed out to 'Abdu’1-Baha “the site which was to serve as the permanent resting-place of the Báb, and on which a befitting mausoleum was later to be erected.” (Wendi Momen, A Basic Baha’i Dictionary)

August 1910: ‘Abdu’l-Baha moves to His House in Haifa

This house which was designed by ‘Abdu’l-Baha, was built under His direction in the German colony at the foot of Mount Carmel in Haifa on a lane later to be called Persian (Haparsim) Street. It was completed in 1908, although from 1907 ‘Abdu’l-Baha began the transfer of the Holy Family to it. In the next few years all the Holy Family moved from 'Akka, including the Greatest Holy Leaf and Shoghi Effendi, and in August 1910 'Abdu'l-Baha Himself moved to the house and it became His official residence. On His return from His travels in the West, this house became the place of reception of pilgrims. The Master ascended to the Abha Kingdom in the room on the right as one enters the house. An apartment was built on the roof in the early 1920s for Shoghi Effendi, and this was expanded in 1937 after his marriage to Ruhiyyih Khanurn. More recently, the reception room directly opposite the entrance door was used by Ruhiyyih Khanum to receive pilgrims and guests.(Adapted from ‘A Basic Baha’i Dictionary, by Wendi Momen)

August 1968: First Oceanic Baha’i Conference was held in Palermo, Sicily

In August, the first Oceanic Bahá'í Conference, held in Palermo, commemorated Bahá'u'lláh's voyage on the Mediterranean Sea on His way to the Most Great Prison. Attendants at this Conference came immediately afterwards to the Qiblih [‘point of adoration’: the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh at Bahji] of their Faith to pay homage at the Shrine of its Founder and to commemorate with deep awareness of its spiritual import the long prophesied arrival of the Lord of Hosts on the shores of the Holy Land. This gathering of more than two thousand believers presented an inexpressibly poignant contrast to the actual arrival of Bahá'u'lláh one hundred years before, rejected by the rulers of this earth and derided by the local populace. Such is the conquering power of His Message, such is the undefeatable might of the King of Kings. (From Ridvan 1969 message of the Universal House of Justice) (To read the entire message please visit Messages to the Baha’i World Community – by the Universal House of Justice)

August 1842: The Báb and Khadijih-Bagum were married in Shiraz, Persia

Siyyid ‘Ali-Muhammad [the Bab], and Khadijih Bagum were neighbors and playmates as children in Shiraz. Before their betrothal Khadijih-Bagum dreamed that Fatimih, daughter of Prophet Muhammad, asked for her hand in marriage to her son, the Imam Husayn. The Báb and Khadijih-Bagum were married in the House of the Báb in Shiraz in August 1842. They had one child, a son Ahmad, who died in infancy.

The Báb revealed to Khadijih-Bagum His station as the Qa'im even before making His Declaration to Mulla Husayn. Nabil writes: “The wife of the Báb, unlike His mother perceived at the earliest dawn of His Revelation the glory and uniqueness of His Mission and felt from the very beginning the intensity of its force. No one except Tahirih, among the women of her generation, surpassed her in the spontaneous character of her devotion nor excelled the fervour of her faith. To her the Báb confided the secret of His future sufferings, and unfolded to her eyes the significance of the events that were to transpire in His Day.” The Bab revealed for her the prayer known as the 'Remover of Difficulties' and directed her to recite it before going to sleep, promising He Himself would appear to her to banish her anxiety.

When Khadijih-Bagum learned Baha'u'llah had declared Himself to be the Promised One of the Bayan, Whose advent the Báb had foretold, she gave Him her allegiance instantly. She died in 1882. (Wendi Momen, ‘A Basic Baha’i Dictionary)

August 1863: Baha’u’llah arrives in Constantinople

Constantinople, currently known as Istanbul, is in Turkey and was the former capital of the Ottoman Empire, to which Baha’u’llah went from Baghdad at the request of the Ottoman government in 1863. He arrived in Constantinople on 16 August and remained there for about four months, after which time He was exiled to Adrianople. (Adapted from ‘A Basic Baha’i Dictionary’, by Wendi Momen)

August 1911: First recorded burial took place at the Baha’i cemetery in Haifa

The Baha'i cemetery in Haifa is situated at the tip of the promontory of Mount Carmel as its northern face plunges to the plain. It is a six-acre plot purchased at the behest of 'Abdu'l-Baha. Its first recorded burial was in August 1911. Several early Baha'is are buried there including Haji Mirza Haydar-'Ali and many Hands of the Cause. (A Basic Baha’i Dictionary, by Wendi momen)