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Sinai. Caravan at el-Wad preparing to cross the desert. American Colony, Jerusalem
Summary
Title from: Catalogue of photographs made by the American Colony ... 1914.
Photograph taken from the central section of El Qa'a Plain to the north El Tur on Sinai's western coast on the Gulf of Suez, showing the vicinity of Bir Yihia and the palm grove of El Wadi Bedouin village. (Source: A. Shams, Sinai Peninsula Research, 2018)
The vicinity of El Tur acted as a natural anchorage throughout the Peninsula's history. As a result, the coastal plain is dotted with dozens of sites which date back to Neolithic period at U'grat Suleiman (late 5th millennium BCE and Camels replaced feral donkeys in transportation in 2nd millennium BCE) and ancient Egyptian ruins at El Krum (Amenhotep III, 1,390-1,353 BCE), in addition to: Roman-Byzantine settlement at El Kilani (30 BCE-7th century CE) (?), four Byzantine monastic complexes at Ras and Bir Abu Suweira (4th century CE), Byzantine and Medieval monastic buildings and 16 burials with 48 human remains in the vicinity of and at Bir Yihia (6th-12th centuries CE), Byzantine ruins at Ras Ra'iya (4th-7th centuries CE), Ottoman fortress at Ras Ra'iya (Selim I, 1517-20 to 1800s CE), Ibrahim Pasha bath building at Hammam Musa hot spring (Turya, 19th century CE), Al Hagig Quarantine for Mecca pilgrims at El Krum close to Bir Murad (1858 CE), and public buildings and residential quarter (19th century CE), the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint George (1875 CE) and the school of Saint Catherine Monastery (1897 CE) at El Kilani area. The inhabitants of El Tur belong to "El-Tawara Tribal Alliance" in South Sinai between the following tribes: Mezena, æAliqat, Hamada and Bani Wasel, Awlad Sa'aed, Qrarsha and Sawalha, and Gebaliya, in addition to Mawtra tribe. Bedouin shrines are scattered along the coastal plain: Batan, El Hrezy El Mawtry and Ibn 'Aqili El 'Aliqaty. Historically, Sinai's Bedouin culture has links to Sufism. The land is dotted with shrines - there are 85 mapped religious shrines across the Peninsula, in addition to many other unmapped ones - used by different Bedouin tribes as annual meeting places. This part of Bedouin culture connects members of the same tribe and different tribes together. (Source: A. Shams, Sinai Peninsula Research, 2018)
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).
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