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| © Jad Davenport |
| This mosque and the high-rises of Tel Aviv were washed out at midday, but came alive 20 minutes after sunset. Click photo for more images from Israel. |
It's early morning and I'm scrambling up the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem, a focal point for three of the world's major religions. I'm halfway through a weeklong tour of Israel, trying to capture this ancient and diverse land in pictures. While my mission is ambitious, so is my itinerary: a huge circuit that takes in the entire country, from the pulsing nightclubs of Tel Aviv and the raw wilderness of the Negev Desert, to the resort beaches of the Red Sea, and the hills and mountains of the Galilee. Now, with just a day in the immemorial city, I'm searching for that iconic shot that sums up 4,600 years of history.
I find it. The onion-shaped domes of the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Mary Magdalene are in the foreground, a Jewish cemetery below the Roman walls in the middle, and the gilded Dome of the Rock -- a Muslim shrine -- in the background. Christianity superimposed on Judaism and Islam at f/8, 1/500 sec. I couldn't imagine more historical layers if I tried.
But there's something missing. As compelling as the image is, and though it encapsulates the history of Jerusalem, it's missing any action or element that might represent its city life today. I take the shot, though I continue to mull over a question that's been haunting me: How do I dust off the cobwebs of a lifeless photo and avoid clichés? How do I bring a historical place to life?
The magic kingdom
It's not easy to capture history in pixels, acknowledges photographer Bob Krist, a frequent contributor to Smithsonian magazine.
"The biggest problem is mass tourism," he says. "All these wonderfully ancient places are becoming theme parks. Go to Rome or Machu Picchu and you find yourself taking pictures of other tourists taking pictures."
Does that mean that all the great sites are ruined? Hardly.
"Choose wisely," Krist says. "There are still some places in the world where things haven't changed much in the last 400 years."
Israel, I soon discover, is one of those rare places where time seems to have simultaneously sped up and stood still. The land and the people are ancient, the enduring stone architecture left by Phoenicians and Romans, Jews and Muslims, is a backdrop for everyday life.
Women in black gowns shop the cobbled streets of Old City, Jerusalem and skinny-armed children leap from the port ramparts of Akko to splash and swim in the sea. Alongside this ancient landscape is a youthful nation that will soon turn 60, a country where history is still being made.
With Jerusalem and the Galilee among the Mediterranean's most popular historic destinations, mass tourism is unavoidable. So how do you overcome it?
"Get up early. Really, really early," says Krist. "At noon, St. Mark's Square in Venice is nothing but tour groups. But arrive at 5:30 a.m., and you'll see just a few street sweepers. That's when you can start to make pictures that capture the mystery and power of the place."
Staying out late also works well. In the Mediterranean town of Caesarea, I spent a morning scuba diving among the marble pillars from King Herod's sunken port. During the day, the modern pier was thick with tourists. But when the last buses left, fishermen gathered on the breakwater with their long poles, silhouetted against a crimson dusk.
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