Private Collection
The Al-Aqsa Mosque is located in the Old City of Jerusalem. The Al-Aqsa Mosque is the largest mosque in Jerusalem. Al-Aqsa means “the farthest”. Its name comes from a mysterious experience of Muhammad. According to the 17th Surah of the Quran, the Prophet Muhammad traveled during a single night from the sacred temple (Mecca) to the farthest temple (al-Aqsa). Caliph Omar built the Al-Aqsa Mosque in 637 on the sacred site where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven during his night journey (Isra).
The American Colony was a colony established in Jerusalem in 1881 by members of the Christian Utopian Society led by Anna and Horatio SPAFFORD. Around 1900, Elijiah MEYER, a member of the American Colony, began to take photographs of Jerusalem city. His work was fast-growing, it was therefore divided into two projects led respectively by Hol Lars (Lewis) Larsson and G. Eric Maston. The latter created the Matson Photographic Service.
