Twenty five photographs of the visit of Emperor Wilhelm II in Jerusalem and the Middle East, in 1898. Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Jaffa, Beirut, Baalbek and other locations, [1898].
Among the photographs: a photograph of the Emperor and his entourage, on horseback, passing through one of the portable gates of honor erected for the visit, accompanied by Ottoman honor guard soldiers, arriving at the Mount of Olives; photograph of the Emperor attending an honor parade on Mount Zion, near the walls of Jerusalem (land on Mount Zion was presented as a gift to the Emperor by the Sultan Abdul Hamid II, and the Abbey of the Dormition was erected on that area); photograph of the Emperor on horseback, by a tent camp erected for him in Jerusalem; photographs of the Western Wall, Rachel's Tomb, Jaffa, the entourage of the Emperor departing the Grand Serai palace in Beirut, railway station between Beirut and Damascus, railway next to the town of Muallaq, and other places.
The photographs are mounted on thick paper plates and are titled by hand on the plates (German). On the margins appears an embossed stamp (weak): "Th. Jürgensen. S. M. Y. Hohenzollern 1901", stamp of Theodor Jürgensen, photographer of the imperial family in those years. Most of the photographs are numbered in the plate.
During October-November 1898 the German Emperor Wilhelm II visited the cities of the Ottoman Empire - Beirut, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Haifa and Jaffa. This journey, whose main goals were strengthening the Ottoman rule and supporting the Protestant Church, is considered one of the central and most important events in the history of Palestine in the 19th century.
Preparations for the Emperor's visit to Palestine already began in the summer of 1898, including major renovations and cleaning projects, improving and renovating infrastructures, installing a new telegraph line, and more. In anticipation of the Emperor's arrival in Jerusalem a number of roads in the city were widened, and an opening in the wall was even cut near Jaffa Gate, to allow the emperor's carriage to pass. In addition, the city's streets, particularly in the area surrounding HaNevi'im Street (where a tent camp for the Emperor and his entourage was to be pitched), were decorated with the flags of Germany and the Ottoman Empire and with portable gates of honor.
During his visit to Jerusalem, culminating in the ceremonial dedication of the Church of the Redeemer, the Emperor also visited the German Colony, the Mount of Olives, the Christian Quarter, the Municipality, and other places, and, among other things, met with Theodor Herzl. He toured the city with his queen consort (Empress Augusta Victoria), without a major entourage, on horseback or by carriage, followed by processions of persons of lesser rank and accompanied by mounted regiments and Kawas guards (Ottoman ceremonial guards). Many tourists arrived in Jerusalem ahead of the visit, renting spots on roofs and balconies on streets where the processions were to pass.
Twenty five photographs. Size varies, average size: approx.16.5 X 12 cm. Good overall condition. Stains. Slight defects (mostly to margins and to paper plates). Small open tear to top corner of one.