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Andre de la VarreScreen Traveler: Damascus and Jerusalem (1936)

Touristic view of Damascus and Jerusalem, showing the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Haram-esh-Sherif, Mount of Olives, the Wailing Wall, the Jaffa Gate in the old west wall of the city and the dome of the rock.


This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Producer: Andre de la Varre
Sponsor: N/A
Audio/Visual: Sd, B&W
Keywords: Middle East; Regional: Palestine; Syria

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: Ja30fitz - - July 24, 2005
Subject: A strange old film...
We get a narration of the Middle East in 1938, which is very fascinating. I would like to see more "Screen Traveler" films on this site in the future...it was a series, right?

Reviewer: de la Varre - - September 4, 2004
Subject: not a stiff upper lipped Brit!
Fascinating to see this movie - one of many produced by my husband's late grandfather - Andre de la Varre Sr. - not a Brit at all but an American and multiple Oscar winner for other travel documentaries.

Reviewer: kneel - - September 2, 2003
Subject: wheres the car-suicide bombers?
WOW this is a certainly different view of Palestine. Although the Western narrator stil makes a few snide comments like "Oh here is some cheap soap for sale, but by the looks of these people, there is little demand for it!" HAHA
Although I mist say i wanted to frequent the little smoke shop they got with all the water bongs, wonder what those arabs smnoked out of them :)

Reviewer: scott kirkpatrick - - May 31, 2003
Subject: Damascus and Jerusalem in the 1930's
To answer the previous reviewer's question, I thought I saw copyright 1938 at the start. It is clearly pre-world war II, late British Mandate period. English signs on the streets. That was a quiet period. The street scenes are quite interesting, the narration a bit off-putting. In the 1950s and most of the 1960's Jews were not permitted at the Western Wall, as they are seen in this movie.

Reviewer: Spuzz - - May 25, 2003
Subject: Fascinating
A great travelogue of Jerusalem/Israel made in the 1950's(?) made more fascinating by the historical relevance in these troubled times in the region. Damascus, Palestine and Jerusalem are covered in this newsreel. I have no idea of what the political state was like during this time, but from was shown here, all was at peace. (Was it?)

Reviewer: Lightcatcher - - November 8, 2002
Subject: When A Fez Was All the Rage
This ten minute time capsule is a pure delight for those who want to see what Jerusalem was like while still under the sway of the British Empire while retaining some of the influence of the once-ruling Ottomans. The clip offers great quality images and a soundtrack featuring a stiff-upper lipped Brit revealing his true Colonial roots. The music score is pure Ed Wood. Enjoy.

Shotlist

Visits Damascus, known as the oldest city in the world, and Palestine, the Holy City. Shows the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Haram-esh-Sherif, Mount of Olives, the Wailing Wall, the Jaffa Gate in the old west wall of the city and the dome of the rock.