HOME MOVIES: 1940s

Genre: home movie

Year Published: 1940s

Format: 16mm

Description: Dating to the late 1940s, this silent home movie was shot by an unknown American, and chronicles a trip across the Middle East and the Mediterranean to Egypt, The Holy Land, Turkey, and Greece. The majority of this silent film features scenes from Giza and the temples of Upper Egypt as well as the holy sites of Jerusalem. Camera focuses on a lamp in a dimly lit room (0:19). Egyptian bedouin men sit with their camels in Giza, Cairo, Egypt (0:25). Wide shot of The Great Sphinx of Giza with a pyramid in the background (0:38). The Pyramids and The Great Sphinx of Giza from different angles (0:45). Egyptian farmers walk in and around palm tree-lined dirt roads with horse-drawn buggies and donkeys (1:04). More shots of pyramids from the Giza Pyramid Complex (2:00). Montage of clips from the temple in Luxor, Upper Egypt (2:11). The sun sets on the Nile River (2:32). Sailboats sail on the Nile (2:47). Montage of clips from the ruins of Aswan, Upper Egypt (2:57). Fishermen and peasant farmers work along the banks of the Nile (3:29). Abu Haggag Mosque in Luxor (3:54). The Memnonium or the headless statues of Ramses II that line the entrance to The Temple of the Ramesseum (4:04). Flowers and palm trees (4:11). Plane waits on desolate tarmac at Luxor International Airport (4:25). Wide-shot of the Temple Mount or Al-Haram al-Sharif/ Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound in Jerusalem (4:29). View of Jerusalem or The Holy Land (4:47). Religious pilgrims visit a holy site (4:52). Ottoman-Palestinian army official in uniform (5:12). The coast of the Dead Sea (5:19). Child plays in front of the camera while a camel stands in the background (5:52). Perhaps grounds of Herodium National Park (5:56). Aerial shot of farmers walk on a dirt path (6:32). Ancient Ruins of Jerusalem (7:23). Congregants stand outside of a church (7:29). Via Dolorosa Street (7:35). View of Temple Mount from The Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet (7:43). Entrance to a cave home of Cappadocia, Turkey (8:18). Panoramic view of Istanbul (8:35). Aerial view of outdoor street market (8:40). The Holy Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (8:55). Shot with The Acropolis of Athens, Greece in the distance (9:44). Panoramic view of Athens with Mount Lycabettus in the background (10:03). Interior of sports arena (10:06). The grounds of The Acropolis and The Parthenon (10:13). Greek officers wearing the fustanella uniform (10:24). The Parthenon (10:43). Greek flag waves in the wind (11:11). Views of Athens as seen from The Acropolis (11:14). Olive harvest (11:34).

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