The ASOR Archives has partnered with ASOR member Bart Wagemakers (University of Applied Sciences, Utrecht) and the family of the late Biblical scholar and photographer Leo Boer, to make Boer’s photographic records of his travels in the Near East available online. While the physical photographs reside in the Netherlands, the photos will soon be made available online in the ASOR digital archives. Browse an in-progress list of the photos, and learn more about Leo Boer.
In the early 1950s, Boer photographed his travels throughout the region, cataloguing anything that interested him. This included archaeological sites, ruins, Bedouin communities, city life, religious sites and festivals, landscapes, and anything else he came across. One series of events that Boer documented was the Christian Holy Week in Jerusalem. Holy Week, which includes processions on Palm Sunday and Holy Friday, provided Boer with an excellent opportunity to photograph the city as well as the religious festival. Though Holy Week is a series of Christian holidays (observed this past week), these images will be of interest to anyone fascinated by the history of the city of Jerusalem, religious observances, or the ambiance of vintage film.
Palm Sunday, April 11, 1954
First Station, April 24, 1954
Third Station, April 24, 1954
Ninth Station, April 24, 1954
If you would like more information about these photos, or would like to reproduce them in some manner, please contact ASOR’s archivist, Cynthia Rufo, or the custodian of the physical collection, Bart Wagemakers.