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the last part of biblical article regarding suggestions
for good locations for filming in Israel. We are also
able to arrange the permits you will need and arrange
convenient shooting schedules.
Byzantine Rule (313-636)
By the end of the 4th century, following Emperor Constantine's
adoption of Christianity (313) and the founding of
the Byzantine Empire, the Land of Israel had become
a predominantly Christian country. Churches were built
on Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, Bethlehem and
Galilee while monasteries were established in many
parts of the country.
Jews were deprived of their former relative autonomy,
as well as of their right to hold public positions,
and were forbidden to enter Jerusalem except on one
day of the year (Tisha b'Av – the ninth of Av)
to mourn the destruction of the Temple.
The Persian invasion of 614 was aided by the Jews,
who were inspired by messianic hopes of deliverance.
In gratitude for their help, they were granted the
administration of Jerusalem, an interlude which lasted
about three years. Subsequently, the Byzantine army
regained the city (629) and again expelled its Jewish
inhabitants.
Where to shoot:
Ruins of the New Church near the Jewish Quarter
Church of the Holy Sepulcher
Basilica of the Nativity
New Mosaic floor found near the Mar Elias monastery
on the road to Bethlehem
Arab Rule (636-1099)
The Arab conquest of the Land came four years after
the death of the prophet Muhammad (632) and lasted
more than four centuries with caliphs ruling first
from Damascus, then from Baghdad and Egypt.
At the outset, Jewish settlement in Jerusalem resumed,
and the Jewish community was granted the customary
status of protected non-Muslims, which safeguarded
their lives, property and freedom of worship in return
for payment of special poll and land taxes.
However, subsequent restrictions against non-Muslims
(717) affected the Jews' public conduct as well as
their religious observances and legal status. The
imposition of heavy taxes on agricultural land compelled
many to move from rural areas to towns, where their
circumstances hardly improved, while increasing social
and economic discrimination forced others to leave
the country.
By the end of the 11th century, the Jewish community
in the Land had diminished considerably and had lost
some of its organizational and religious cohesiveness.
Where to shoot:
Panorama of Jerusalem from Jabal Mukhaber
Dome of the Rock
Al Aqsa Mosque
Hesham Palace near Jericho
The Crusaders (1099-1291)
For the next 200 years, the country was dominated
by the Crusaders who, following an appeal by Pope
Urban II, came from Europe to recover the Holy Land
from the infidels. In July 1099, after a five-week
siege, the knights of the First Crusade and their
rabble army captured Jerusalem, massacring most of
the city's non-Christian inhabitants. Barricaded in
their synagogues, the Jews defended their quarter,
only to be burned to death or sold into slavery. During
the next few decades, the Crusaders extended their
power over the rest of the country, partly through
treaties and agreements, but mostly by bloody military
victories. The Latin Kingdom of the Crusaders was
that of a conquering minority confined mainly to fortified
cities and castles.
When the Crusaders opened up transportation routes
from Europe, pilgrimages to the Holy Land became popular
and, at the same time, increasing numbers of Jews
sought to return to their homeland. Documents of the
period indicate that 300 rabbis from France and England
arrived in a group, some settling in Acre (Akko),
others in Jerusalem.
Following the overthrow of the Crusaders by a Muslim
army under Saladin (1187), the Jews were again accorded
a certain measure of freedom, including the right
to live in Jerusalem. Although the Crusaders regained
a foothold in the country after Saladin's death (1193),
their presence was limited to a network of fortified
castles. Crusader authority in the Land ended after
a final defeat (1291) by the Mukluks, a Muslim military
class which had come to power in Egypt.
Where to shoot:
The Walls of Jerusalem near David’s Citadel
Crusaders architecture in the Temple Mount
Crusaders Castles:
Latrun
Nimrod Golan Heights
Monfort Mishmar Hayarden
Akko, city in the north of Israel
The Horns of Hittim, the site of Salah Saladin’s
victory
Mamluk Rule (1291-1516)
The Land under the Mamluks became a backwater province
ruled from Damascus. Acre, Jaffa and other ports were
destroyed for fear of new crusades, and maritime as
well as overland commerce was interrupted. By the
end of the Middle Ages, the country's towns were virtually
in ruins, most of Jerusalem was abandoned and the
small Jewish community was poverty-stricken. The period
of Mamluk decline was darkened by political and economic
upheavals, plagues, locusts and devastating earthquakes.
Where to shoot:
Mamluk architecture on the Temple Mount, such as:
the fountain near the entrance to the Al Aksa Mosque
the Mamluk structure in the Moslem Quarter
The cotton market at the west entrance to the Temple
Mount
Ottoman Rule (1517-1917)
Following the Ottoman conquest in 1517, the Land was
divided into four districts, attached administratively
to the province of Damascus and ruled from Istanbul.
At the outset of the Ottoman era, some 1,000 Jewish
families lived in the country, mainly in Jerusalem,
Nablus (Shehem), Hebron, Gaza, Safed (Tzfat) and the
villages of Galilee. The community was comprised of
descendants of Jews who had always lived in the Land,
as well as immigrants from North Africa and Europe.
Orderly government, until the death (1566) of Sultan
Suleiman the Magnificent, brought improvements and
stimulated Jewish immigration. Some newcomers settled
in Jerusalem, but the majority went to Safed where,
by the mid-16th century, the Jewish population had
risen to about 10,000, and the town had become a thriving
textile center as well as the focus of intense activity.
During this period, the study of Kabbalah (Jewish
mysticism) flourished, and contemporary clarifications
of Jewish law, as codified in the Shulhan Arukh, spread
throughout the Diaspora from the houses of study in
Safed.
With a gradual decline in the quality of Ottoman rule,
the country suffered widespread neglect. By the end
of the 18th century, much of the land was owned by
absentee landlords and leased to impoverished tenant
farmers, and taxation was as crippling as it was capricious.
The great forests of Galilee and the Carmel mountain
range were denuded of trees; swamp and desert encroached
on agricultural land.
The 19th century saw medieval backwardness gradually
give way to the first signs of progress, with various
Western powers jockeying for position, often through
missionary activities. British, French and American
scholars launched studies of biblical archaeology
; Britain, France, Russia, Austria and the United
States opened consulates in Jerusalem. Steamships
began to ply regular routes to and from Europe; postal
and telegraphic connections were installed; the first
road connecting Jerusalem and Jaffa was built. The
Land's rebirth as a crossroads for commerce of three
continents was accelerated by the opening of the Suez
Canal.
Consequently, the situation of the country's Jews
slowly improved, and their numbers increased substantially.
By mid-century, overcrowded conditions within the
walled city of Jerusalem motivated the Jews to build
the first neighborhood outside the walls (1860) and,
in the next quarter century, to add seven more, forming
the nucleus of the New City. By 1870, Jerusalem had
an overall Jewish majority. Land for farming was purchased
throughout the country; new rural settlements were
established; and the Hebrew language, long restricted
to liturgy and literature, was revived. The stage
was set for the founding of the Zionist movement.
Where to shoot:
Walls of Jerusalem
David’s Citadel
Old train station of Jerusalem
The Mosque in Abu Gosh

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