More Baha'i tourism--sightseeing at Oxford

I am here at the University of Oxford to present a paper at a conference on "Poverty, Education and Health in Rural China."

I took some time to go for a little sight seeing stroll today. From St. Anne's College I walked down Observatory Road admiring the colorfully painted homes and got some breakfast/lunch (woke up so late due to jet lag) at a little cafe on Walton St.

Funny how there was such a familiarity in the flavors of things--coming to England is also like a cultural homecoming in some sense--child of British colonial Africa that I am. The baked beans tasted how baked beans ought to taste in my mind--not sickly sweet like American baked beans. Even the tea and the jam on toast tasted "right" :-)

After lunch I strolled down towards Broad St where Balliol college is located.

Balliol college is where Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Baha'i Faith studied the philosophy of politics from 1920. I spent some time strolling the courtyards.

I love the little faces that seem to be everywhere in the architecture.

Then I spent some time in the chapel.

I was struck by the bronze eagle lectern which holds a copy of the Bible. The eagle was apparently given for the chapel in 1630 by one of the fellows who studied at Balliol. It certainly made me think of Shoghi Effendi who so loved the symbol of the eagle. Sculptures of eagles can be found throughout the Baha'i gardens at the Holy Places in Israel and

also atop Shoghi Effendi's gravesite in London [image borrowed from Barney Leith's blog]. Surely the similarity between these two sculptures of an eagle atop a globe is not coincidental??