MOUNT EBAL PHOTOGRAPHED BY FELIX BONFILS

 

FÉLIX BONFILS (1831-1885)
Mount Ebal (940m - 3, 080 ft)
Palestine (Cisjordanie)

In Vue de Naplouse et du Mont Ebal postcard, 1878, Hallwylska Museet.

 
The mountain
Mount Ebal or Har ʿĒyḇāl or Jabal ‘Aybāl (940m - 3, 080 ft) is one of the two mountains in the immediate vicinity of the city of Nablus in the West Bank (biblical Shechem), and forms the northern side of the valley in which Nablus is situated, the southern side being formed by Mount Gerizim. The mountain is one of the highest peaks in the West Bank. Mount Ebal is approximately 17 km2 (6.6 sq mi) in area ] and is composed primarily of limestone. The slopes of the mountain contain several large caverns which were probably originally quarries, and at the base towards the north are several tombs.
In 1980, a structure on Mount Ebal was discovered by Israeli archaeologist Adam Zertal during the Manasseh Hill Country Survey.  The University of Haifa and the Israel Exploration Society excavated the structure over eight seasons from 1982 to 1989, and uncovered scarabs, seals, and animal bones dating to the Iron Age I period.  Today, most archeologists agree that the structure was a site of an early Israelite cultic activity. Zertal suggested that the structure was possibly the altar described in the Book of Joshua as where Joshua built an altar to Yahweh and renewed the Covenant in a large ceremony. This identification is controversial and has been disputed by a number of archaeologists. In February 2021 a portion of the site was destroyed by the Palestinian Authority and the stones were ground up and used to pave a nearby road.
In the Book of Joshua, after the Battle of Ai, Joshua built an altar of unhewn stones there, the Israelites then made peace offerings on it, the Law of Moses was written onto the stones, and the Israelites split into the two groups specified in Deuteronomy and pronounced blessings and cursings as instructed there.

The photographer
Félix Bonfils was born in Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort (France).  He moved to Beirut in 1867 where he opened with his wife and his son Adrien, the photographic workshop Maison Bonfils, he renamed in 1878 F. Bonfils and Co.
Bonfils photographed in Lebanon, Egypt, Palestine, Syria and Greece as well as in Constantinople from 1876.  He was very active as soon as he arrives in Lebanon: his catalog mentions more than 15,000 prints in the early 1870s, made from nearly 200 negatives, and 9,000 stereoscopic views.
His works became famous thanks to tourists from the Middle East who brought his photographs as souvenirs. His views could be purchased individually, but they were also available as albums.
However, these photographs, produced by the workshop, could sometimes be the work of his son Adrien or assistants of the company.
In 1876 he returned to Alès (France), where he opened another studio around 1881. The one of Beirut was not closed. His wife Marie-Lydie and his son kept it opened and active after this death in 1885. This establishment was still very active in 1905, when a fire destroyed it.  The Bonfils business continued for several decades after the death of its founder. It was bought in 1918 by Abraham Guiragossian, a partner since 1909, who kept its name. It is mentioned in the Blue Guide in 1932.

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2022 - Wandering Vertexes
A blog by Francis Rousseau

MOUNT GERIZIM BY FÉLIX BONFILS

 

FÉLIX BONFILS (1831-1885)
Mount Gerizim (881m - 2,890 ft)
Palestine

In Mount Gerizim from Mount Ebal - Maison Bonfils, Oregon State University

The mountain
Mount Gerizim or Garizim or Ar-garízim in Hebrew, Jabal Jarizīm in Arabic is a West Bank mountain near Nablus, in the historic region of Samaria. This mountain is a holy place for the Samaritans, who can argue that it is mentioned several times in the Torah. The height of Mount Gerizim is 881 meters, very steep on its northern flank and covered with brush at the top. It is one of the highest mountains in the West Bank and Israel. At his feet springs a spring of fresh water.
Around -330 BC. AD, the Samaritan population built a temple at the top of the mountain that became the religious center of Samaritanism, like the Temple of Jerusalem for Judaism. This temple will be built a little before1 the conquest of Alexander the Great, or just after. The temple is then surrounded by fortifications (according to the Book of the Maccabees). However, it will be destroyed by King Hasmonean John Hyrcan I in the 2nd century BC (circa -108 BC) According to archaeological excavations and ancient sources, a temple dedicated to Zeus is built on the site. during the time of Emperor Hadrian. From its conversion to Christianity, the Byzantine Empire attempted to forcibly convert minorities (heterodox Christians or non-Christians) to its version of Christianity. Thus, the Emperor Zeno (born in 427 - reign from 474 to his death in 491) attacks the Jews and the Samaritans. During his reign, the Samaritan temple is destroyed a second time (in 484, it seems), and this, in a definitive way. It will never be rebuilt.
When Christianity became the dominant religion in the Roman Empire, the Samaritans were denied access to Mount Gerizim. A church, protected by ramparts, was built at the top. This was one of the causes of the Samaritan revolt under the leadership of Julianus ben Sabar in the sixth century, a revolt whose repression will be so terrible that the Samaritans, then very numerous in the north of Palestine, became a small residual population. Despite the destruction of the temple, the mountain has remained the religious center of the Samaritans until today. This is how the Samaritan high priest is to reside around Mount Gerizim. This one is chosen within the priestly family (or "house") which is "supposed to descend from the son of Aaron, brother of Moses".

The photographer
Félix Bonfils wasborn in Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort (France). He moved to Beirut in 1867 where he opened with his wife and his son Adrien, the photographic workshop Maison Bonfils, he renamed in 1878 F. Bonfils and Co..
Bonfils photographed in Lebanon, Egypt, Palestine, Syria and Greece as well as in Constantinople from 1876.
He was very active as soon as he arrives in Lebanon: his catalog mentions more than 15,000 prints in the early 1870s, made from nearly 200 negatives, and 9,000 stereoscopic views.
His works became famous thanks to tourists from the Middle East who brought his photographs as souvenirs. His views could be purchased individually, but they were also available as albums.
However, these photographs, produced by the workshop, could sometimes be the work of his son Adrien or assistants of the company.
In 1876 he returned to Alès (France), where he opened another studio around 1881. The one of Beirut was not closed. His wife Marie-Lydie and his son kept it opened and active after this death in 1885. This establishment was still very active in 1905, when a fire destroyed it.
The Bonfils business continued for several decades after the death of its founder. It was bought in 1918 by Abraham Guiragossian, a partner since 1909, who kept its name. It is mentioned in the Blue Guide in 1932.

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2020 - Wandering Vertexes
A blog by Francis Rousseau