Historic Middle Eastern Scenes

Vintage photographs capturing life in the Middle East with market scenes, ceremonies, and notable visits, reflecting cultural heritage and architecture.

'The Jews' Wailing Place - Outer Wall of the Temple, Jerusalem, Palestine', c1930s. The Western Wall is is the holiest place where Jews are permitted to pray. From "Tour of the World". Keystone View Company, Meadville, Pa., New York, Chicago, London
'The Jews' Wailing Place - Outer Wall of the Temple, Jerusalem, Palestine', c1930s. The Western Wall is is the holiest place where Jews are permitted to pray. From "Tour of the World". Keystone View Company, Meadville, Pa., New York, Chicago, London
142 assets in this story
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Poll photo collection. Israel: Nazareth. People with backpacks at the entrance to the Church of the Annunciation (the church of Gabriel). undated. Galilee, Israel, Nazareth
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Poll photo collection. Middle East 1950-1955: Jerusalem. Easter celebration. Believers at the scaffolding at the entrance to the Holy Grave Church. 1950. Israel, Jerusalem, Jordan
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Ruth the Moabitess, a woman wearing traditional Palestinian clothing including a dress with an embroidered chest panel and headscarf. 1925
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Delhi, Indies the Friday prayer in the courtyard of the Great Mosque (Jama Masjid) , 1913-1914 - India, Pakistan - Stéphane Passet - (December 16 -January 29) (French - Delhi , Indes La prière du vendredi dans la cour de la Grande Mosquée ( Jama Masjid )). Prayer, crowd, Islam, court, mosque, religious architecture, Religion , Habitat , Architecture, Indies, Delhi, Muslim prayer
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Water-carrier, in Korea circa 1900
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Self-flagellating Islamic martyrs after the Feast of Schachsei-Wachsei - reminiscent of some Christian sects at Batumi (formerly Batum or Batoum), a city on the Black Sea coast and capital of Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia, 12 miles from the border with Turkey. Batumi is the last stop of the Transcaucasian Railway and the Baku oil pipeline. Date: circa 1910s
1899-18788457
Palestine is a name given to the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. The region is also known as the Land of Israel, the Holy Land and the Southern Levant. In 1832 Palestine was conquered by Muhammad Ali's Egypt, but in 1840 Britain intervened and returned control of the Levant to the Ottomans in return for further capitulations. The end of the 19th century saw the beginning of Zionist immigration and the Revival of the Hebrew language. The movement was publicly supported by Great Britain during World War I with the Balfour Declaration of 1917. The British captured Jerusalem a month later, and were formally awarded a mandate in 1922. In 1947, following World War II and the Holocaust, the British Government announced their desire to terminate the Mandate, and the United Nations General Assembly voted to partition the territory into a Jewish state and an Arab state. The Jewish leadership accepted the proposal but the Arab Higher Committee rejected it; a
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Egypt. gebel musa. 1913.
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Two people in traditional dress at the city wall of Thula, Thulla, Yemen, Asia
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Greek monks at the modern entrance, Monastery of St. Catherine American Colony, Jerusalem. 1898, Egypt, Sinai
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Australian soldiers & Greek monks at Church of the Holy Sepulchre 1940, Jerusalem, Israel
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Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem, Holy Land, circa 1910
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Tomb of Sultans Mahmoud and Aziz , Tombs & sepulchral monuments, Sultan II. Mahmut Türbesi Istanbul, Turkey, Mahmud II, Sultan of the Turks, 1784-1839, Abdülaziz, Sultan of the Turks, 1830-1876. Nicholas Catsimpoolas Collection
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Temple area, Mosque of Omar i.e., Dome of the Rock, etc. Mosque of Omar from the north, woman and daughter walking to the mosque. ca. 1900.
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A Marabout, Tunisia. A marabout is a tomb of a venerated saint, and such places have become holy centers and places of pious reflection. The roots of this tradition can be traced back to ancient times when the Berbers believed in the polytheistic religions. Herodotus mentioned the tradition too, when he has spoke of the Nasamones bringing animal sacrifices to the tombs of holy men. Date: circa 1906
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Good Friday Christian procession; pilgrims carrying Cross, Via Dolorosa (Way of the Cross), Old Jerusalem, Israel. 9,000 plus total Africa & Middle East file. Worldwide religion file.
1899-18855779
The Armenian Genocide refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was implemented through wholesale massacres and deportations, with the deportations consisting of forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees. The total number of resulting Armenian deaths is generally held to have been between one and one and a half million. Other ethnic groups were similarly attacked by the Ottoman Empire during this period, including Assyrians and Greeks, and some scholars consider those events to be part of the same policy of extermination. It is widely acknowledged to have been one of the first modern genocides, as scholars point to the systematic, organized manner in which the killings were carried out to eliminate the Armenians, and it is the second most-studied case of genocide after the Holocaust. The word genocide was coined in order to describe these events.
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Story of Ruth. 1898, Middle East, Israel and/or Palestine
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shepherd life illustrating the Twenty-Third Psalm 'He leadeth me in paths of righteousness' 1946, Middle East, Israel and/or Palestine
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Bedouin women laden w/papyrus 1900, Middle East, Israel and/or Palestine
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Money changer Jew 1934, Middle East, Israel
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Stiehl Otto (1860-1940): sketch and photo album 19: cartridges, Duderstadt. Cathedral church, Nordhausen
1899-18788812
Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arabian ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes, or clans, known in Arabic as aasa'ir. The term 'Bedouin' derives from a plural form of the Arabic word badawi, as it is pronounced in colloquial dialects. The Arabic term badawi derives from the word badiyah, which means semiarid desert (as opposed to sahara', which means desert). Starting in the late nineteenth century, many Bedouin under British rule began to transit to a seminomadic life. In the 1950s and 1960s, large numbers of Bedouin throughout Midwest Asia started to leave the traditional, nomadic life to settle in the cities of Midwest Asia, especially as hot ranges have shrunk and populations have grown. For example, in Syria the Bedouin way of life effectively ended during a severe drought from 1958 to 1961, which forced many Bedouin to abandon herding for standard jobs. Similarly, governmental policies in Egypt and Israel, oil production in the Persian Gulf, as well
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Basilian monk, frascineto, calabria, italy, 1965.
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Nizam (Richest Man In World) Visits New Delhi. First In 16 Years - Guards stand on duty at Hyderabad House, New Delhi, where the aged Nizam of Hyderabad, making his first visit to New Delhi for over 16 years, is in residence. His flag flies at the flagstaff.The Nizam, richest man in the world., who owns an aviation company, chartered a Constellation plane for the trip. He was accompanied by two wives and a number of children. Under the new constitution the Nizam is the Governor of the State of Hyderabad. He is visiting the capital to attend the Governors' Conference. March 17, 1952.
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Tomb of the Virgin and cave of Agony, Jerusalem, Holy Land, Israel, c. 1890, Historic, digitally restored reproduction from a 19th century original, Tomb of the Virgin and cave of Agony, Holy Land, 1890, Historic, digitally restored reproduction from a 19th century original, Asia
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Poll photo collection. Middle East 1950-1955: Jordan. The view of the birth class in Bethlehem. 1950. Bethlehem, Israel, Jordan
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The Samaritan Passover on Mt. Gerizim Salutation near view 1900, West Bank
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Druze 1898, Middle East, Israel and/or Palestine
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Spanish civil war: Nationalist forces at the Shrine of Our Lady of Cabeza, 1937.
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Anefo photo collection. General rehearsal of the passion games in Tegelen, Jesus sitting with Mary Magdalene in Simon's House. May 16, 1960. Limburg, Tegelen
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Album: flowers and pictures of the Holy Land, Boulos Meo, 1890s, Each page is labeled with the name of the site and the source of the flowers. Bound in boards of olive wood with inlaid border and leather spine. Title on front board lettered Jerusalem.
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The Iveron monastery, Greece 'Turkish fountain' , 1918 - Greece - Fernand Cuville - (September) (French - Le monastère d' Iveron , Grèce "Fontaine turque"). Religious habit, religious personality, Christianity, religious practice, portrait, monastery, hydraulic installation, fountain, sculpted decor, religious architecture, man, Clothing, personality, religion, human beings, habitat , architecture, Mont Athos, Iviron, Turkish fountain
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shepherd life illustrating the Twenty-Third Psalm 'My cup runneth over' 1946, Middle East, Israel and/or Palestine
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shepherd life, illustrating the Twenty Third Psalm 'He restoreth my soul' 1900, Middle East, Israel and/or Palestine
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Delhi, Indies the Friday prayer in the courtyard of the Great Mosque (Jama Masjid) , 1913-1914 - India, Pakistan - Stéphane Passet - (December 16 -January 29) (French - Delhi , Indes La prière du vendredi dans la cour de la Grande Mosquée ( Jama Masjid )). Prayer, crowd, Islam, court, mosque, religious architecture, Religion , Habitat , Architecture
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Elsevier photo collection. Water shortage 1953. Commemorative Sunday. curved heads storm rain, churchgoers walk church halter. February 8, 1953. Halsteren
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Customs of the countryside, Argentinian gauchos playing 'Taba' a variant of the game of Knucklebones, Argentina. The game is played in a field where the taba or talus bone is thrown to the air. Upon falling the people making bets guess if it will fall upward (suerte) or backward (culo). Date: circa 1909
1899-18788516
Palestine is a name given to the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. The region is also known as the Land of Israel, the Holy Land and the Southern Levant. In 1832 Palestine was conquered by Muhammad Ali's Egypt, but in 1840 Britain intervened and returned control of the Levant to the Ottomans in return for further capitulations. The end of the 19th century saw the beginning of Zionist immigration and the Revival of the Hebrew language. The movement was publicly supported by Great Britain during World War I with the Balfour Declaration of 1917. The British captured Jerusalem a month later, and were formally awarded a mandate in 1922. In 1947, following World War II and the Holocaust, the British Government announced their desire to terminate the Mandate, and the United Nations General Assembly voted to partition the territory into a Jewish state and an Arab state. The Jewish leadership accepted the proposal but the Arab Higher Committee rejected it; a
1899-18788594
Palestine is a name given to the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. The region is also known as the Land of Israel, the Holy Land and the Southern Levant. In 1832 Palestine was conquered by Muhammad Ali's Egypt, but in 1840 Britain intervened and returned control of the Levant to the Ottomans in return for further capitulations. The end of the 19th century saw the beginning of Zionist immigration and the Revival of the Hebrew language. The movement was publicly supported by Great Britain during World War I with the Balfour Declaration of 1917. The British captured Jerusalem a month later, and were formally awarded a mandate in 1922. In 1947, following World War II and the Holocaust, the British Government announced their desire to terminate the Mandate, and the United Nations General Assembly voted to partition the territory into a Jewish state and an Arab state. The Jewish leadership accepted the proposal but the Arab Higher Committee rejected it; a
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12/31/1914. In Russian Poland - exterior appearance of the Suwaklki church. Photo: Hoffer.
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Church of Our Lady of Las Mercedes