Ottoman Archives Posts More Rare Photos of the Holy Land This Week

Ottoman Archives Posts More Rare Photos of the Holy Land This Week

Posted: 26 May 2015 

Israel's History - a Picture a Day (Beta)

More pictures were digitized and posted by the Ottoman Imperial Archives this week, and we are thankful to the archivists for preserving and sharing their photographic treasures.

Among the pictures was this unique photo of Jerusalem, taken from the Mt. Scopus area and dated 1886.  The remnants of snow are still visible.

Jerusalem's Old City and Temple Mount, photographed from the east. (Ottoman Imperial Archives, 1886)

Another photo, dated 1916, shows the Galilee town of Tiberias on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  One of Judaism's holiest cities (along with Jerusalem, Hebron and Safed), Tiberias dates back to the era of the Bible and the Talmud. 

View of Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee (Ottoman Imperial Archives, 1916)

By Ottoman order the town was confined within the ancient walls until 1908 when a Christian order built a convent outside of the walls.  Several farms were established in 1911 outside of the walls, and they are visible in the photograph.