The stunning collection, which is made up of more than 1,000 black and white images, date back as far as 1840 when photography was still in its infancy.

It consisted of some of Quds's (Jerusalem) most historic landmarks including the Al-Aqsa Mosque.


Also there are fascinating photographs of people living in the area from the 1860s such as Bedouins and Arabs.


Auctioneers Sotheby's thought the collection would only fetch �300,000, but strong bidding pushed up the price.







[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="664"] The collection was assembled over a period of 25 years by a man with an interest in the area[/caption]



[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="656"] The collection features some of the earliest photographs ever taken of the Holy Land from the mid 19th century[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="661"] According to Sotheby's who sold the photographs, there are more images taken every two minutes now than during the entire 19th century[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="690"] According to Sotheby's who sold the photographs, there are more images taken every two minutes now than during the entire 19th century[/caption]









By Al Alam