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To Sinai via the Red Sea, Tor, and Wady Hebran. Distant view of Jebel Serbal from el-Wad
Summary
Title from: Catalogue of photographs & lantern slides ... [1936?].
Photograph taken from the central section of EL Qa'a Plain, looking northeast and showing the vicinity of Wadi Hibran to the right, the square-shape summit of Gebel Serbal Umm Takha and the vicinity of Wadi Wirqa in front of it in centre-right, Gebel Gamra in the centre from a 40km plus distance, the vicinity of Bir Yihia and the palm grove of El Wadi Bedouin village in the foreground, and El Qa'a Plain in-between. (Source: A. Shams, Sinai Peninsula Research, 2018)
Neolithic sites (tombs and dwellings) are scattered along the eastern edge of El Qa'a Plain at the foot of the granite mountain region of South Sinai, forming four clusters from north to south (6,000-4,500 BCE): Wadi Abura, Wadi Giba', Wadi Wirqa (Ramouz, north stream) and Abu Gedar area (Khawr), in addition to two clusters at the outlet of Wadi A'raba El Saghir and U'grat Suleiman. Camels replaced feral donkeys in transportation in 2nd millennium BCE, though domesticated donkeys are still used in the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula. Gebel Serbal towers Feiran Oasis to the south. The oasis was also known as Palm Grove of B'aal and thought to be the true location of Mount Sinai (Biblical Sinai) in 3rd century CE. Byzantine monastic sites are scattered on the southern slopes of Gebel Serbal at Hajar El Lombarda (Erkym), Shenenir, Umm Ba'atran, Sigilliya and El Karm vicinity (5th-10th centuries 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). Wadi Hibran is part of the route from El Tur on the Gulf of Suez to Mount Sinai (Biblical Sinai) and is known as part of "Siqqat Abbas Basha". It was traversed by Abbas Helmi I, the Khedive of Egypt (1849-54). The pasha visited Sinai Peninsula in 1853-54 CE and paved several paths. As a result, the route became more frequented by travellers between mid-19th and early 20th centuries CE. Awlad Sa'aed tribe (14th century CE) and other tribes inhabit El Qa'a Plain. (Source: A. Shams, Sinai Peninsula Research, 2018)
Caption on negative: Distant view of Jebel Serbal from El-Wad.
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).
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