Bygone Mecca
November 15, 2010 7:31 AM   Subscribe

In 1885, Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje took rare sepia-tinted photographs and sound recordings of Mecca. The exhibition will be on display at The Empty Quarter Gallery in Dubai.
posted by gman (8 comments total) 11 users marked this as a favorite
 
CD reissue. Now, please.
posted by mykescipark at 7:38 AM on November 15, 2010




"Moreover Dutch colonialism was never grounded in religious zealotry." What's very noticeable in Holland, if you go there from Britain, where all our finest historic buildings are churches or cathedrals (the castles and halls tend to be large and furnished rather than fine), is that, even in the middle ages, it's always the town hall, where the weights and measures for regulating commerce were kept and money, law and guilds were, that are far far finer than the churches. Like us the wrecked the lot during the reformation, but even the exterior, even the Catholic south, it's the town halls that are swanky! I heard a very non-pc joke there, which, regardless of the other people involved, is so true of the dutch: they never give old stuff away like brits and americans, they always sell it: 'A Jew is someone who can buy from a Dutchman and sell to a Scotsman and make a profit.' I would have thought that was impossible though.
posted by maiamaia at 7:50 AM on November 15, 2010 [1 favorite]


I just saw this exhibition last week and it really is very nice. I love old photographs of cities. I think it was last year that there was a great exhibition of colour plates of late 19th and early 20th Jerusalem curated by Empty Quarter. Luckily my office shares a building with the gallery so I can spend a week of lunchtimes pleasurably absorbed in the past.
posted by atrazine at 8:51 AM on November 15, 2010


These remind me of Lehnert & Landrock's 19th Century photos of Egypt - I have a few of these framed in my house as souvenirs from Cairo.

(NSFW - some orientalist boobs. I now also want the image that shows up 3rd, of the tea shop)
posted by UbuRoivas at 11:27 AM on November 15, 2010


This is good.
posted by maggieb at 1:21 PM on November 15, 2010


Really beautiful! Thanks!
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 1:24 PM on November 15, 2010


Wonderful stuff. The audio is haunting.
posted by languagehat at 2:12 PM on November 15, 2010


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