cover image Jerusalem in 3000 Years

Jerusalem in 3000 Years

Nachum Tim Gidal, Tim Gidal. Knickerbocker Press, $45 (259pp) ISBN 978-1-57715-001-5

This breathtakingly beautiful photo-essay explores the image of Jerusalem as a city of peace, juxtaposing it with the bitter reality of centuries of conflict waged in the name of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths. More than 400 color and black-and-white photographs are organized around such themes as ancient sites, the medieval period, British rule, the Holocaust, immigration, the city's architecture, the Knesset (Parliament), the birth of Israel and the 1967 Six-Day War. With sections on Christian Byzantium, Jesus in Jerusalem, Islamic rule, the Intifada, the Arab and Orthodox Jewish quarters, this is a memorable cornucopia of indelible images. The text is in English, German and French. Author/photographer Gidal, born in Munich, has lived in Jerusalem since 1970 and teaches the history of visual communication at Hebrew University. (Sept.)