Image: Ruins of Old Mosque, Baalbek WDL2449

Description: The American Colony in Jerusalem was founded in 1881 as a Christian utopian community by Chicago natives Anna and Horatio Spafford. In addition to pursuing its religious goal of emulating the spirit and practices of the early Christians, the community engaged in humanitarian relief efforts, notably during the difficult years of World War I. The American Colony’s photographic department traced its beginnings to the community’s 1898 purchase of a camera to document a visit to Jerusalem of the German Kaiser, Wilhelm II. Over the years, the colony’s archives grew to include thousands of photographs of the Middle East, including important images of the war years in Palestine. Among the colony’s photographers was Eric Matson, from whose archives this item is drawn. This photograph depicts a colonnaded wall from the noted archaeological site of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon. Baalbek was an important religious center known as Heliopolis in the Roman Imperial period. It was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. Archaeological sites; Mosques
Title: Ruins of Old Mosque, Baalbek
Credit: http://dl.wdl.org/2449.png Gallery: http://www.wdl.org/en/item/2449/
Author: American Colony in Jerusalem
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
Attribution Required?: No