Selam guys, i want to share 100 year old pictures from Mecca and Medina that where taken by the order of Sultan II Abdülhamit the Ottoman sultan at that time.

http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/6448/295972tj.jpg

http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/3468/295995nb.jpg

http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/1608/296009pm.jpg

http://img236.imageshack.us/img236/858/296031mi.jpg

http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/523/296045sl.jpg

http://img236.imageshack.us/img236/981/296063kl.jpg

enjoy it...

thanks for sharing those amazing pictures.

http://brain.com.pk/~nbrother/medina/nabwi-history_b.jpg

For viewers from Saudi Arabia who can't see the pictures, use these links:
IMAGE #1 (http://www.yarrt.com/defilter/index.php?q=http%3A%2F%2Fimg79.imageshack.us%2Fimg79%2F6448%2F295972tj.jpg)
image #2 (http://www.yarrt.com/defilter/index.php?q=http%3A%2F%2Fimg379.imageshack.us%2Fimg379%2F3468%2F295995nb.jpg)
IMAGE #3 (http://www.yarrt.com/defilter/index.php?q=http%3A%2F%2Fimg379.imageshack.us%2Fimg379%2F1608%2F296009pm.jpg)
IMAGE #4 (http://www.yarrt.com/defilter/index.php?q=http%3A%2F%2Fimg379.imageshack.us%2Fimg379%2F523%2F296045sl.jpg)
IMAGE #5 (http://www.yarrt.com/defilter/index.php?q=http%3A%2F%2Fimg236.imageshack.us%2Fimg236%2F981%2F296063kl.jpg)
IMAGE #6 (http://www.yarrt.com/defilter/index.php?q=http%3A%2F%2Fimg236.imageshack.us%2Fimg236%2F858%2F296031mi.jpg)

@kenaney and alsen
thanks for the great pictures.

great pix, almost brought tears into my eyes after seeing the holly land.

Most of these buildings dont exist today, there whas a "total destruction" of Ottoman architecture and some holy graves such as the grave (it had a golden dome) of Hatija the first wive of prophet Muhammed pbuh by the wahabi's after the retreat of the Ottoman forces from Mecca and Medina...

wow those are rare pictures.

kenaney
What are u saying is right just I wanted to correct one part ( by the wahabi's after the retreat of the Ottoman forces from Mecca and Medina) this was Actually from the Kingdome of Hejaz , Hejaz was an independent Kingdome at that time

kenaney
What are u saying is right just I wanted to correct one part ( by the wahabi's after the retreat of the Ottoman forces from Mecca and Medina) this was Actually from the Kingdome of Hejaz , Hejaz was an independent Kingdome at that time


autonomous yes, independant no.

By the late late 1800 early 1900 Hejaz, Levant, Fertile Crescent and all of northwest africa was still legally Ottoman but was either autonomous or controlled by either Britain, Italy or France. If these pics are from AbdelHamid II time (1876-1908?) then Hejaz was a autonomous region with a few Ottoman garrisons(Tabuk, Jiddah and Medina) under the governorship of Husayn Ali, great greatgrandfather to Abdullah II of Jordan.

great pix, almost brought tears into my eyes after seeing the holly land.
It also brought tears in my eyes after seeing/knowing most of these beautifull buildings dont exist today...

There is only a Ottoman trainstation left (wich go's under restoration from what i heard this year) and 114 (the som of the ayets of Qur'an?) little domes that Mimar Sinan the great Ottoman architect contructed wich you can see in this pic:

http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/3468/295995nb.jpg

Anyway thanks for the correction guys, shukran.

Actually from the Arabic revolution until the establishing of Saudi Arabia Hejaz was fully independent country with a full board of Ministers ,Central bank ,foreign Embassies( Holland ,UK, Italy ,France ,Russia etc ) ,Army and first Air force in the region and even a political parties

Actually from the Arabic revolution until the establishing of Saudi Arabia Hejaz was fully independent country with a full board of Ministers ,Central bank ,foreign Embassies( Holland ,UK, Italy ,France ,Russia etc ) ,Army and first Air force in the region and even a political parties

Arab revolt was in 1916 and Saudi Arabia had formal independance in 1926. Legally these areas were not considered as an independant state but lands of conflict with the United Kingdom representing them through mandates( a cheap way of colonising these areas). Im sure Abdul Aziz ibn Saud felt that he captured the Kingdom of Hejaz from Husayn Ali by 1926 but the fact still remains that until 1918 the "kingdom of" Hejaz area was legally Ottoman Empire territory, from 1918-1926 these were conflict lands with ultimate representation given by Britain and after formal indepndance Saudi Arabia controlled it.

As far as Im aware Husayn Ali(hasemite family) was the sole arab representative to the British for the Hejaz and Najd. Most historians will agree with this matter. All the infrastructure you speak of practically and logically did not exist in a tangible manner.

again Im not doubting that there existed a autonomous region called the Kingdom of Hejaz, i am saying that legally and politically it was never an independant nation, nor did other nations respect their territorial legitimacy.

sources: Gelvin, James The Modern Middle East
Halliday, Fred The Nationalism Debate and the Modern Middle East
Quataert, DOnald The Ottoman Empire 1700-1922

Does anyone have pictures from infamous Lawrence of Arabia times?

Sorry Nitzomoe, but you are incorrect. The Hijaz was never mandated by the British. The Hijaz declared independence in 1916, which was officially recognised.

As for the lack of administrative structures, that's not true. There was a very real functioning government with all the beaurocracy that goes with it. So much so, that when al-Saud conquered the Hijaz, he used them! Why do you think all government ministries were based in Jeddah up until the 70s?

BTW for a short period, the Hijaz was the region's first democracy: When Sharif Hussain was forced to abdicate in a coup by the government, the Hijaz was turned into a constitutional monarchy with two elected houses. Shame it only lasted a few months.

kenaney,

Nice pictures. The ones from Medina I haven't seen before. Much appreciated.

I've got a book with a collection of photos taken by Muhammad Sadiq Bek and others taken in the 1880s. Unfortunately I don't have a scanner to put them up, but I recommend anyone interested to look them up, particularly Muhammed Sadiq who took a lot of photos.

PS a small correction, the first and last photos were taken by Dr Abdulghaffar, a Meccan doctor of Indian origin.

woow amazing pics

praise allah what wonderfull place ever ...:) good thread as well

Wow this thread is so cool, does anyone have like really old pictures/paintings from even earlier times? I wonder how it looked in the 16th century!:)

Nice pics!!! the third pic looks in Beiteddine, Lebanon :nuts:

http://img236.imageshack.us/img236/981/296063kl.jpg

where the people????looks so empty:?

^^ LOL
I think it was so hot so they escaped to the shadows
b/c you can observe like ppl under the small simple umbrella's from the first pic
this is my explanation but I don't know :)

http://img236.imageshack.us/img236/981/296063kl.jpg

where the people????looks so empty:?

now that one exiting me more n more :) thnx saudi guy :)