The Institute for Palestine Studies Color
photos of Palestine from the December 1926 issue of National Geographic
magazine (Vol L, VI), "In the Birthplace of Christianity," recently
donated to IPS's private library. Original captions included in the
photo descriptions.
"Palestine is a land of comely young women
and handsome old men. The years which affect the fleeting beauty of the
former bring dignity and character to the faces of the latter, who are
at their best when in repose, gossiping among themselves, soaking up the
sun, or lazily spinning a handful of snowy yarn."
 |
| "Moslem
and Christian Neighbors of El-Bireh and Ramallah. Among the peasants
and small-town dwellers of Palestine, the veil is seldom used for
concealment. But convention makes it difficult to obtain photographs of
women. This convention, which has a religious significance for the
Moslems, is often equally strong among Christians. The woman here is a
Moslem matron of El-Bireh. The chaplets of coins are thought by some to
have inspired the halo in sacred art." |
 |
| "A
Turbaned Patriarch. Palestine is a land of comely young women and
handsome old men. The years which affect the fleeting beauty of the
former bring dignity and character to the faces of the latter, who are
at their best when in repose, gossiping among themselves, soaking up the
sun, or lazily spinning a handful of snowy yarn." |
 |
| "Moslem and Christian Neighbors of El-Bireh and Ramallah. A schoolgirl of the Christian town of Ramallah." |
 |
| "Palestine's
Tourist Port As Seen from Mount Carmel. The curving bay between Haifa
and Acre, historic harbor for a vast hinterland, is poorly protected and
often rough. But the former has displaced Jaffa as a passenger port to
the Holy Land. Haifa is rapidly growing up the side of Carmel and
contains most of the few factories that Palestine possesses. The
automobile highway connecting the seaport with Tyre and the Phoenician
coast runs on the white sands that cut like a shining sickle blade
around the blue bay. In the background are the hills of Galilee, beyond
which, on clear days, Mount Hermon lifts its snowy head." |
 |
| “An
Arab Shepherd of Palestine. His headgear consists of a square of white
cotton secured by a thick, double black cord of goat’s hair. His aba, or
cloak, is folded up, so as to leave his legs free for climbing.” |
 |
| “A
Christian schoolgirl of Ramallah. A scarf such as that worn by this
young woman may have served Ruth when she gleaned an ephah of barley in
the fields of Boaz. It is heavy with silk embroidery and fringe. The
dark gown is that worn on workdays or by those in mourning. Among the
four main types of costumes seen in Palestine, those of Ramallah are the
most attractive. “ |
 |
| “A
Mohammedan Sheik of El-Bireh. Intent on his string of beads, the adult
Moslem’s chief toy, this patriarch rests amid the wild flowers which
intrude into his vineyard. Behind the field where he sits in silent
meditation, two football teams are being coached by an American athletic
instructor.” |
 |
| “Moslem
women weeding a grain field of Samaria. Dominating the south end of the
plain of El Makhna is Huwara, whose women are remarked for their
fanaticism and their beauty. The most beautiful women arouse the
greatest jealousy and hence are kept in the closest seclusion. These
agriculturists are pulling the tares from the young wheat, for it is not
until the grain is high that wheat and tares are allowed to grow
together until the harvest. “ |
 |
| “The
Softly Rolling Slopes of Galilee. It was in such flower-carpeted
fields, gently dropping away to curving valleys and commanding distant
views of the Sea of Galilee, that Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount
and attracted his Disciples. The Galilee landscape, setting for so many
homely but deathless parables, makes a poetic appeal to the knowing eye
and the understanding heart.” |
 |
"Olives" photograph from 1918-1935
"Before Their Diaspora" A photographic history of the Palestinians, 1876-1948, by Walid Khalidi
See more photographs: http://ow.ly/e10oA http://ow.ly/i/Y92H |
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