In such esteem was Bahá’u’lláh now held that the local officials said that He was free to leave the prison city. To test this, in late spring 1877 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá obtained permission from the owners of a pine grove near the Mansion of Bahjí outside ‘Akká to host a banquet for the notables of the city. When they accepted ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's hospitality, it was clear that the order to keep Bahá’u’lláh within the prison city, although never formally revoked, would no longer be enforced.