451 Items
Halabiyeh 1992
Photographs taken of Halabiyeh in December 1992.
Type: Archaeological Site
Tags: Archaeology, Architecture, Euphrates, Halabiyeh, Late Antique, Roman, Syria, Zenobia
Qirq Bizeh 1992
The village of Qirq Bizeh photographed in December 1992.
Type: Archaeological Site
Tags: Late Antique, Limestone Massif, Qirq Bizeh, Syria
Qalb Lozeh 1992
A photograph taken of the church of Qalb Lozeh in December 1992.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bema, C5th, Church, Limestone Massif, Qalb Lozeh, Syria
Resafa 1992
These pictures were taken on a visit to Resafa in December 1992.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Archaeology, Architecture, Late Antique, Resafa, Syria
Qal'at Seman 1992
These images of Qal'at Seman were taken in December 1992
Type: Architecture
Tags: C5th, Church, Limestone Massif, Pilgrimage, Pillar, Qalat Seman, Simeon Stylites, Syria
Maaloula Church of Mar Sarkis
These pictures show the late antique church of Mar Sarkis (St. Sergius) which is sometimes ascribed an early C4th, possibly pre-Constantinian, foundation date due to the exceptionally rare survival of a horseshoe-shaped altar table. This shape is usually associated with pagan altars and in this case is believed to have been made for a Christian place of worship due to the lack of drainage channels for blood sacrifices. The church also housed a large collection of icons, including an 1813 image of SS. Sergius and Bacchus by Michael of Crete. The fate of these icons is currently unclear after an attack on the church by jihadists in the course of the Syrian civil war.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Altar, Architecture, Church, Icon, Maaloula, Mar Sarkis, St. Sergius, Syria, Syrian Civil War
Palmyra 1962
These images of Palmyra were taken in the summer of 1962. The tourist infrastructure was less developed at this time and the images also show evidence of intrusive levels of renovation that had mellowed or been replaced by the later half of the C20th. For details relating to each image separately in this item please refer to the inventory appended to this collection.
Type: Archaeological Site
Tags: 1962, Archaeology, Architecture, Baalshamin, Bel, Palmyra, Qalat Ibn Maan, Syria, Tadmor, Temple, Triumphal Arch
Umayyad Mosque Damascus
The Umayyad Mosque of Damascus is the earliest Islamic monument still extant after the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. As with the Dome of the Rock, the Mosque boasts a large volume of mosaic decoration of the highest quality that is believed to have been carried out by Byzantine artisans given the similarities of the technique and motifs with high-quality Byzantine commissions of the same era. The most notable difference is that there is a complete absence of figural imagery in the Islamic monuments. In the case of the Umayyad Mosque the decoration is particularly intriguing as it depicts a range of landscapes both urban and pastoral, all entirely without living creatures. This has led many commentators to argue that it represents a vision of paradise, with others arguing instead for an idealised representation of Damascus. Whether or not these interpretations are correct, the mosaicists appear familiar with Roman architecture, with porticoed late Roman villas appearing prominently in the decoration, meaning that the mosaics demonstrate a continuity with earlier artistic forms rather than a definitive break with the past. In many ways the decorative scheme is far more conservative than that of the Dome of the Rock, which predates is by over twenty years.
Type: Mosaic
Tags: 1962, Architecture, Byzantine, C7th-C8th, Damascus, Dome of the Rock, Islam, Jerusalem, Mosaic, Mosque, Syria, Umayyad, Umayyad Mosque
Noria al Jessrieh in Hama 1962
This image shows one of the famous noria, or wooden water wheels of Hama. Although they were once numerous along the Orontes River, few survive to the present day and they are believed to date back to at least the C13th. However, since the wood is replaced with new insertions as it wears away or rots, it is debateable how much ancient wood still remains in these wheels. They are particularly prized for their distinctive 'song' made by the creaking of the wood as the wheel turns.
Type: Architecture
Tags: 1962, Architecture, C13th, Hama, Noria, Orontes, Syria, Wood
Qal'at Seman 1962
These images of Qal'at Seman, the famous shrine of St. Symeon Stylites the Elder on Jebel Seman are valuable because they are taken midway between the French restoration of the site in the 1930s and the way the site looked in the late 1990s when the majority of the rest of the photographs in this archive were taken. They show the complex to be well maintained, with less visitors (local or foreign) than were customary by the pre war years.
Type: Architecture
Tags: 1962, Archaeology, Architecture, Basilica, C5th, Church, Jebel Seman, Limestone Massif, Martyrium, Pilgrimage, Pillar, Qalat Seman, Simeon Stylites, Syria