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Sinai. The Summit of Jebel Mousa
Summary
Title from: Catalogue of photographs made by the American Colony ... 1914.
Photograph taken from the summit of Mount Sinai (Biblical Sinai or Gebel Musa), looking northeast and showing Wadi Sebaa'iya and Wadi Sdud in lower-right, the western mountain slopes of Gebel Umm A'lawi to the right above the Wadis, and the low V-shape mountain pass to Senned Plain (Kosh El Dabba) behind the large boulder, crossing the eastern section of the ring dyke of the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula in centre-right, from a 6.5km distance. (Source: A. Shams, Sinai Peninsula Research, 2018)
Umm Gisum section of Wadi El Sebaa'iya is located to the south of three prehistoric sites date back to Middle Paleolithic (<17,000 BCE), Epi-Paleolithic (17,000-8,300 BCE) and Pre-Pottery Neolithic (B) (6,700-6,000 BCE). The contemporary church of the Holy Trinity and Cleft of the Rock on the summit of Mount Sinai was built (re-constructed) in 1934 CE at the site and from the ruins of four earlier churches, including Julian Saba's first church on the summit in 363 CE, Justinian's church in 6th century CE, a mid-late medieval church, and the fourth church visible in the photograph. There is a mosque which was built from the same ruins to the southeast of the church and above the traditional site of Moses rock cave of the 40 days and nights, in addition to inscriptions by pilgrims and travellers scattered on the summit. The route of Wadi Sdud to Senned Plain is the closest low mountain pass from Saint Catherine Monastery to Dahab Oasis on the Gulf of Aqaba, through Wadi Zaghara and Wadi Nasb to the east. The ring dyke (the ring of fire) is a volcanic mountain chain which encircles the northern half of the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula and acts as a natural boundary with the surrounding uplands, where several mountain passes are used as natural gateways. (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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