“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”
Jesus (John 10:27-28)
A space for things Christian Middle Eastern, old Holy Land nostalgia, potential MidEast media of interest, and the plight of Middle Eastern Christians.
British Mandate Jerusalemite Photo Library – on Facebook
Films
From the Manger to the Cross – 1912 American silent drama film directed by Sidney Olcott. Filmed on location in Egypt and Palestine, it’s arguably the first film on Jesus shot in the Holy Land. On Youtube.
The Great Book Robbery – 2012 documentary by Benny Brunner on the 70,000 Palestinian books that were looted by the newly created State of Israel in 1948. On Youtube.
‘Zabbaleen: Trash Town. A whole community in Egypt that lives on rubbish‘ – 2017 RT documentary, on Youtube.
Resources
Holy Land Photography – Mid-19th Century Photos of the Middle East by Francis Frith – Library of Congress
Articles
Politics of Portraiture The Studio of the Krikorians by Hashem Abushama
Familial Snapshots: Representing Palestine in the Work of the First Local Photographers by Issam Nassar
Books
*The 21: A Journey Into the Land of Coptic Martyrs by Martin Mosebach. My review:
“We have become accustomed to assuming that it is primarily political and economic motives that lie behind every religious conflict, because we don’t want to consider the fact that a person’s faith might actually be the ultimate, highest reality.”
“Christianity is not a myth. It relies on historical events that actually took place, and therefore must constantly look back to its beginnings.”
‘The 21’ is acclaimed German writer Martin Mosebach’s touching quest to explore the background of the 21 Coptic martyrs killed in Libya by IS in 2015. With the exception of one Ghanaian Christian, they were all Egyptian. It’s one of many shattering, necessary reminders of the kind of oppression Christians across the Middle East have faced for generations. As an extension of said discrimination, I also appreciated the chapter on the zabbaleen garbage collectors, which instantly brought to mind a recommended RT documentary. It’s called ‘Zabbaleen: Trash Town. A whole community in Egypt that lives on rubbish‘ and is on Youtube (as of this writing). Ample disgust and tears notwithstanding, the book highlights a community that embodies the depths of Christian humility, resilience, and dignity deserving of the highest respect.
*Imaging and Imagining Palestine – Photography, Modernity and the Biblical Lens, 1918–1948. Series: Open Jerusalem, Volume: 3. Editors: Karène Sanchez Summerer and Sary Zananiri. Available as free ebook PDF or hardback.
*Ordinary Jerusalem, 1840-1940. Opening New Archives, Revisiting a Global City. Series: Open Jerusalem, Volume: 1 Editors: Angelos Dalachanis and Vincent Lemire. Available as free ebook PDF or hardback.