The Mansion of Bahjí. The West Facing BalconyLeft,
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This balcony faces the East wall of the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh and the adjoining Bahjí Pilgrim House. The Turkish primitive paintings above the windows on the outside of the building are of no particular significance, but are considered to be fine examples of such work of the period. Of the wall surrounding the Mansion, the one to the south is completely original and includes, at it's eastern end, a small room which is the tomb of ´Údí Khammár and the step which Bahá'u'lláh used to mount His steed. The western wall is original as far as the gate.
This large and imposing building, was built about 1870 as a summer palace for ´Údí Khammár, a prosperous merchant of 'Akká. The owners fled during an epidemic, and in 1879 the Mansion was rented and later purchased as a residence for Bahá'u'lláh.
"Greetings and salutations rest upon this mansion which increaseth in splendour through the passage of time. Manifold wonders and marvels are found therein, and pens are baffled in attempting to describe them." (The dedicatory statement of ´Údí Khammár placed over the lintel upon completion of the mansion in 1870).