A glimpse to the Holy Land of the 19th century

St. Stephen's Gate, Jerusalem

A magnificent time travel by photochrom images, courtesy of the Library of Congress, gives us a historical view of the Holy Land and its people in the late 19th century.
The region was at the time controlled by the Ottoman Empire and it was a largely pastoral land which looked like it had changed very little since Biblical times.
It is unclear who the photographer of these spectacular photos is and how or where he arrived or lived in the Middle East, but it is known that he was an American and that the photos were taken between 1890-1900.
The images are photochrom prints which were transferred from black-and-white photographic negatives onto lithographic printing plates and were colorized.
The photolithographic process was invented in the 1880s and was widely spread during the 1890s when picture postcards became popular.

A Jewish man, Jerusalem

Bedouins and children outside tent

Bedouins and their tents

Church of St. Saviour, Jerusalem

Church of the nativity (interior), Bethlehem

Fisherman's boat on the Sea of Galilee, Tiberias

From Mount Scopus, Jerusalem

From the Mount of Olives, general view, Jerusalem

From the sea, Jaffa

General view of the well of David, Bethlehem

General view, Cana of Galilee

General view, Hebron

General view, Jericho

Jews in Jerusalem

Magdala, the birthplace of Mary Magdalene

Nazareth

Nebi-Samuel, or the Plain of Mizpah

Panoramic view, Tiberias

Peasants of the neighborhood of Bethlehem

Ruins of Capernaium

Street of the Tower of David, the bazaar, Jerusalem

The Arch of Ecce Homo, Jerusalem

The Calvary and the Greek altar, Jerusalem

The colonnade, Samaria,

The Damascus Gate, Jerusalem

The Golden Gate (exterior), Jerusalem

The Jaffa Gate, Jerusalem

The pools of Solomon, Bethlehem

The River Jordan

The Tower of Antonia, Jerusalem

The vale of Napulus, (i.e., Nablus)

The virgin's fountain, Nazareth

The way to the station, Jerusalem

The well of the samaritan (Shechem), Napulus

Tiberias

Tomb of Lazarus, Bethany

Tomb of Rachel, Bethlehem

Tombs of the patriarchs, Hebron

Valley of the Tombs of Jehoshaphat, Jerusalem

Water carrier of Jerusalem

Young girl of Bethlehem in costume

Biblical and vintage Holy Land memorabilia

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