Jerusalem
John McCarthy arrives in Jerusalem to consider pictures of the Mount of Olives and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. From May 2013.
In the third episode in this series John arrives in Jerusalem. Here he considers pictures of two of the holy cities key locations. The Mount of Olives and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
In 1862 Albert, Prince of Wales, toured the Middle East. At the time it was still predominantly controlled by the Ottoman Empire. As he travelled, his photographer Francis Bedford kept a detailed photographic record of the trip. In this series John McCarthy revisits the scenes of Bedford's photographs - Egypt, Israel and the Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and Greece. He considers how the immediate physical, political and social landscape has evolved during the intervening 150 years.
Some of Bedford's photographs are of widely known locations - the Pyramids at Giza, the Mount of Olives, the temples at Baalbek, the Acropolis - others are of remote hilltops and apparently random buildings, scenes without any obvious significance. Both however hold fascinating and unexpected tales and insight.
The series will reflect on the rise and fall of empires - the Ottoman, British and French all play their part in these stories. They are now all gone, but the world's powers still seek to influence the politics of the region.
In each episode John McCarthy focusses on two of Bedford's original photographs, revisiting the sites and taking his own pictures of the same scenes today.
Presenter: John McCarthy
Producer: Kevin Dawson
A Whistledown production for 大象传媒 Radio 4
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A view over Jerusalem
Duration: 01:10
Jerusalem, From Mount of Olives (Mar-Apr 1862)
The royal party arrived at Jerusalem in the evening of 31 March. They set up a camp outside the city walls, between the Damascus Gate and the Gate of St. Stephen. Their first evening was spent walking along the walls of the town, taking in the view of the city, under the guidance of the Revd Dr Stanley, one of the gentlemen in the Prince鈥檚 party.
Broadcasts
Wed 8 May 2013 13:45大象传媒 Radio 4- Wed 12 Dec 2018 14:15大象传媒 Radio 4 Extra
- Thu 13 Dec 2018 02:15大象传媒 Radio 4 Extra
Exhibition
The Queen's Gallery, Palace of Holyroodhouse. Friday, 8 March 2013 to Sunday, 21 July 2013
