Related
To Sinai via the desert. Scene at the Springs of Moses; (Marah?).
To Sinai via the desert. Caravan at Springs of Moses; Ayoun Mousa
To Sinai via the desert. Caravan at Springs of Moses; Ayoun Mousa.
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To Sinai via the desert. Entrance to the Geat [i.e., Great] Pyramid
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To Sinai via the desert. Entrance to the Geat i.e., Great Pyramid
To Sinai via the desert. Scene at the Springs of Moses; (Marah?)
Summary
Title from: Catalogue of photographs & lantern slides ... [1936?].
Photograph taken from Sinai's western coast on the Gulf of Suez to the south of the town of Suez at Uyun Musa (Biblical Twelve Springs of Moses), showing the way station for pilgrims, travellers, scholars and early tourists. (Source: A. Shams, Sinai Peninsula Research, 2018)
Camels replaced feral donkeys in transportation in 2nd millennium BCE, though domesticated donkeys are still used in the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula. Uyun Musa and the surrounding palm grove are the traditional location of the Biblical Twelve Springs of Moses, on the Exodus route of the Israelites to the vicinity of Biblical Mount Sinai and Saint Catherine Monastery (also known as Darb El Batraa). The landscape is dotted with a large Coptic tomb (4th century CE), Islamic pottery shreds (7th-18th century CE), Ottoman watering facilities (Sulieman II, 1538 CE), and the remains of Al Hagig Quarantine (18th century CE). The springs had functioned as key way station for pilgrims, travellers, scholars and early tourists on the edge of Sinai desert for centuries. Huwitat tribe (17th century CE) and other tribes inhabit the vicinity of Uyun Musa. (Source: A. Shams, Sinai Peninsula Research, 2018)
Caption on negative: The Springs of Moses, [Marah?].
On negative sleeve: 5/5.
Date from Matson LOT cards.
Gift; Episcopal Home; 1978.
The G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection is a source of historical images of the Middle East. The majority of the images depict Palestine (present-day Israel and the West Bank) from 1898 to 1946. Most of the Library of Congress collection consists of over 23,000 glass and film photographic negatives and transparencies created by the American Colony Photo Department and its successor firm, the Matson Photo Service. The American Colony Photo Department in Jerusalem was one of several photo services operating in the Middle East before 1900. Catering primarily to the tourist trade, the American Colony and its competitors photographed holy sites, often including costumed actors recreating Biblical scenes. The firm’s photographers were residents of Palestine with knowledge of the land and people that gave them an advantage and made their coverage intimate and comprehensive. They documented Middle East culture, history, and political events from before World War I through the collapse of Ottoman rule, the British Mandate period, World War II, and the emergence of the State of Israel. The Matson Collection also includes images of people and locations in present-day Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Iraq, and Turkey. Additionally, the firm produced photographs from an East African trip. The collection came to the Library of Congress between 1966 and 1981, through a series of gifts made by Eric Matson and his beneficiary, the Home for the Aged of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Diocese of Los Angeles (now called the Kensington Episcopal Home).