of which negotiations
have been set afoot--will constitute an addition of over thirty thousand
square meters to the vast area of Baha'i holdings permanently dedicated to
the Shrines of the Founder of the Faith and of its Herald. The
embellishment of the Haram-i-Aqdas, the outer Sanctuary of Baha'u'llah's
Sepulcher, already accomplished in the course of the Holy Year
commemorating the centenary of the birth of His prophetic Mission, has
been greatly enhanced through the laying out, on both its northern and
southern sides, of formal gardens, extending over an area of ten thousand
square meters, providing a befitting approach to His Mansion and
considerably widening the area stretching in front of His holy Sepulcher.
The design of the international Baha'i Archives, the first stately Edifice
destined to usher in the establishment of the World Administrative Center
of the Faith on Mt. Carmel--the Ark referred to by Baha'u'llah in the
closing passages of His Tablet of Carmel--has been completed, and plans and
drawings forwarded to Italy for the purpose of securing bids for its
construction immediately after the conclusion of the necessary preliminary
steps taken in the Holy Land for its forthcoming erection. Israel Branches
of the British, the Persian, the Canadian and the Australian Baha'i
National Spiritual Assemblies have been legally established, recognized
formally as Religious Societies by the Israeli Civil Authorities, and
empowered to hold without restriction title to immovable property in any
part of the country on behalf of their parent Assemblies. Contact has
moreover been established with the President of Israel, its Prime Minister
and five other Cabinet Ministers, as well as with the President of the
Knesset, culminating in the establishment of a special Baha'i Department
in the Ministry of Religious Affairs, and in an official statement by the
Head of this Ministry to Parliament emphasizing the international scope of
the Faith and the importance of its World Center--a series of events that
have paved the way for the forthcoming official visit, during the early
days of the Ridvan period, of the President of Israel, himself, to the
Bab's Sepulcher on Mt. Carmel.

The site of the Siyah-_Ch_al--that pestilential subterranean Pit, the scene
of the birth of Baha'u'llah's prophetic Mission, and the holiest place in
the capital city of His native land--has been recently purchased, together
with the surrounding area, invo