Rare color footage from 1930s casts new light on holy city

I am a fan of old black and white photographs of Jerusalem.

Inside the Jaffa Gate

The link from the YNet news site shows rare footage of Jerusalem from the 1930s as never seen before, from the lens of the Margulis family, who vacationed in the city and took with them a 16 mm camera and a newly acquired color film.  

The Jerusalem Cinemateque has digitized the rare photographs. The photos and a short film of the old city can be seen in this link: https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5569188,00.html
Note that the Holy Sepulchre was undergoing renovations after the earthquake of 1927.
Apologies for the extraneous adverts, but I think this is worth it for a rare journey to Jerusalem past.

Through His Father's Eye - Elia Photo - Christian Quarter

Learning of the recent passing of Kevork Kahvedjiah, a kind and gentle soul, I wanted to update this post.  His son Elie continues the family tradition.

Kevork surrounded by his father's pictures
Photo: Aliza Orent

Kevork Kahvedjian was raised in the Armenian Quarter of the Old City and inherited his father’s photography business. His father fled Armenia and was raised in an orphanage in Nazareth. After discovering a trove of his father’s negatives in an attic, he published “Through My Father’s Eyes” a unique collection of photographs showing everyday life in Jerusalem and throughout the Holy Land as captured by his father’s camera since 1924. Recently, the photographs were used to guide the restoration of the historic Hurva Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter, which was destroyed by the Jordanians in 1948.. 

A visit to Elia Photo on El Khanka Street is a must for anyone visiting Jerusalem. Even more so if you are interested in photography and historical photographs.



Kevork Kahvedjian of Blessed Memory

History in Black and White

From David Ben Gurion declaring the new State of Israel to portraits of presidents and prime ministers, Rudi Weissenstein's camera captured the history of a nation. Together with his wife, Miriam, they opened the Pri-Or Photohouse in 1940. Today Israel's oldest photography store is run by grandson Ben Peter.

Last week on an unusually cold and wet Tel Aviv day I discovered this magical place in the heart of Tel Aviv. Over a hot coffee and surrounded by portraits of the Who's Who of Israeli history, Ben proceeded to tell us about his family, his work and the more than one million pictures taken by his grandfather documenting the history of the state.

With Ben Peter in the Photohouse - Shimon Peres looks on

Since Ben Peter began working with his grandmother, Miriam Weissenstein at the Photohouse, one of his goals has been to preserve his grandfather’s archive of one million negatives through digitization. On November 27, 2012, the building which had housed Pri-Or Photohouse on Allenby 30 for over 70 years was torn down, and on that same day a contract was signed with the National Library of Israel to preserve the archive.

The story of the Photohouse was documented in the film "Life in Stills" by Tamar Tal winner of the best film award at the DocAviv Festival in Tel Aviv in 2011. It tells the story of the special relationship between Ben and his 96 year old grandmother Miriam, the family and the photos.

Images of Miriam Weissenstein on the wall

Since Miriam's death last year at the age of 98, Ben divides his time between the store, touring the world promoting the film and keeping alive the legacy of his grandfather's pictures.

It's worth taking the time to stop by and peruse the wonderful photographic collection and perhaps purchase a souvenir of days past - if you can choose just one that is!

Pri-Or Photohouse - Zalmania is located on 5 Tchernikovsky Street, Tel Aviv. 03-5177916. Open Sunday - Thursday 10:00 - 18:00, Friday until 13:00. zalmania@gmail.com

Thanks to Aliza Orent for her photographs