The Holy land is situated between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea and extends between Israel, the West Bank, Jordan, and Palestine. It is the holiest place for Muslims, Jews, and Christians. The area has versatile natural wonders; one encounters snow-capped mountains (Mount Hermon), barren deserts (Judean Desert), a large freshwater lake (Sea of Galilee), and a salt sea (Dead Sea).
Throughout history, several invaders from different parts of the world tried to invade and conquer the land. The Ottomans ruled the Holy Land from 1516 to 1832 until Egypt took control in 1832. Eight years later, the United Kingdom intervened and returned the region to the Ottomans. After the Great War, Britain regains control of the area, and Israel became a state in 1948 in a violent process that entailed the ethnic cleansing of Palestine. Zionist forces expelled some 750,000 Palestinians from their homeland and destroyed their villages in the process.
These photographs were taken in 1915 and show some beautiful landmarks and mountains of the Holy Land. They offer a rare peek of the Holy Land in the last days under the Ottoman Empire.
