This film from Israel is like a journey through time.
The historical clip from 1897 shows the hustle and bustle on the east side of Jaffa Gate in the capital Jerusalem. They are among the first film recordings from the city.
It is the year of Theodor Herzl’s first Zionist Congress, in which the guidelines for a Jewish state in Palestine were laid out. Jerusalem was then under Ottoman rule – although more than half of the city’s inhabitants were already Jewish.
The 127-year-old video comes from the work of the film pioneers Lumière brothers – and is therefore one of the first film recordings ever.
The Jaffator is one of the main gates of the city wall – and one of the largest structures within this rampart.
The gate is the most frequently used entrance to the old town.
Nine years after this photograph, in 1906, a clock tower was erected on top of the gate – but this was removed again in the 1920s.
Other historical footage from 1936 also shows people entering Jerusalem’s Old City through the gate.
Over the years, the Jaffator has retained much of its characteristic appearance – probably also due to extensive renovation work until 2010, during which broken stones were replaced and dirt deposits removed.
Born in France in the 1860s, the brothers Auguste and Louis Lumière are credited with creating a cinematograph, a forerunner of the motion picture projector. The two are traded alongside Thomas Edison as the inventors of cinema. Here you can see more historical footage of the film pioneers Lumière brothers:
Venice 127 years ago: Video shows Canal Grande 1896 – and the comparison to today
127-year-old film – this is what Broadway in New York City looked like in 1896