Ottoman Imperial Archives Releases Important Mystery Photo of Jerusalem

Ottoman Imperial Archives Releases Important Mystery Photo of Jerusalem

Posted: 18 May 2015 

The Ottoman Imperial Archives continues to digitize and post Online its massive collection of documents, photos and illustrations. 

Resposible archivists and librarians around the world realize the importance of digitizing its treasures and sharing them with the world.

We will continue to present and analyze the photographs from this archive as we review and identify them, but we wanted to immediately share this historic photograph of Jerusalem's Old City taken from the Mount of Olives.

 

Jerusalem's Temple Mount with the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque. Also note the small Muslim graveyard in front of the city wall and the "Golden Gate" or "Gate of Mercy." (Ottoman Imperial Archives)

We surmise that the photographer or owner of the photo was French from the notes made on the image to identify 16 sites numbered on the photograph.  It is difficult to read the notes, but number 3, "Mosque d'Omar," and number 12, "Tombeau de David [David's Tomb]," are legible  and in French. 

But when was the photograph taken? 

The answer is provided by one of the landmarks not contained on the tourist list -- the Tiferet Yisrael Synagogue near the Hurva Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter.







The Hurva and Tiferet Yisrael Synagogues. The former was built by students of the Gaon of Vilna, the latter by followers of Hasidic sects. The two groups  frequently clashed.