Behind the mysteries of the holy land

By Whitney Johnson, Director of Visual and Immersive Experiences

National Geographic has long been interested in the Holy Land, from its first magazine spread in 1909 to the archaeological discoveries to the sociopolitical changes since then.

How does a photographer cover this multifaceted place, show the collision of ages, religions, languages, and cultures? For a 2019 National Geographic magazine cover story on the massive archaeological work going on under Jerusalem, photographer Simon Norfolk found scenes that clashed in time—modern Israeli soldiers in front of a mural of a busy colonnaded street in the Byzantine era, or (pictured above) young people wearing virtual reality headsets to experience a first-century Jerusalem, one not dominated by the gleaming, golden Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine built in the seventh century.

Aspects tied to religion dominated our early coverage, says Sara Manco, the senior photo archivist of the National Geographic Society. At times of the year it still does, particularly around the Christian holidays of Christmas and Easter.

At Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Holy Fire is carried by Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III during last year’s remembrance, muted because of the pandemic. Orthodox teachings say the flame miraculously materializes in the tomb of Jesus. The Holy Fire is celebrated each Holy Saturday and symbolizes the resurrection of Jesus. Usually, the ceremony is attended by up to 10,000 Orthodox pilgrims (below), But in 2020, photographer Natan Dvir was joined by only about a dozen Christian clerics in attendance.

Just yesterday, our coverage of the Holy Land included the oldest map of the region, actually a mosaic floor found under the rubble of an ancient church. Last month, we showed the first new discoveries in decades of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Archaeologists say the soil can unveil the multiplicity of a land holy to many faiths. “What lies beneath Jerusalem” Andrew Lawler wrote for us in 2019, “reveals that the city’s history is too rich and complicated to fit any single narrative, whether Jewish, Christian, or Muslim.” (Pictured below, Arab Christians in Jordan hike near the Jordan River to pray beneath a cross during Epiphany.)

TODAY IN A MINUTE

Asian in Atlanta: Photographer Hannah Yoon uses a Korean word, han, to describe her sentiments amid Atlanta’s Asian American community after the mass shooting on March 16. “Han means a collective feeling of unresolved resentment against injustices suffered —a sense of helplessness—and it’s very deep within the Korean psyche,” Yoon says in the text of her visual-led Washington Post story. See her images.

Sold: It began as a Tumblr blog with 10 photos. In eight years, Unsplash grew to handle more than 100 million free images downloaded every month. Now Unsplash has been bought by Getty Images, which also owns iStock. The combination of Unsplash and iStock under one roof is seen as a threat to paid photography. “Our mission of Photos for Everyone remains unchanged,” says Unsplash co-founder and CEO Mikael Cho, who is staying on.

Suffering, too: Burlesque has been reported in New York since 1868, but the broad swath of the pandemic cut the number of those performances, amid everything else. The New York Times spoke to and Kholood Eid photographed 12 burlesque artists, who said they were are itching for the return of feathers, tassels, and harnesses. See the photos.

Happy birthday, Dr. Jane Goodall! The legendary scientist, conservationist, and humanitarian turns 87 on Saturday. Best known for her six decades of work on wild chimpanzees, Goodall recently has been the subject of a documentary and our award-winning “Becoming Jane: The Evolution of Dr. Jane Goodall” exhibition. Listen to Jane read a passage from one of her favorite childhood books, take a virtual journey to Tanzania’s Gombe National Park, and hear behind-the-scenes stories about the making of the exhibition on our virtual tour.

INSTAGRAM OF THE DAY

Step by step: Journeys aren’t all sunshine and joy, including this slippery part of an expedition through the Upper Paikwa River Basin in northwestern Guyana, near its frontier with Brazil and Venezuela. “Many of the crew, including myself, fell horribly on this particular river crossing, leaving lasting wounds and wet camera bodies!” wrote Renan Ozturk, who showed Nat Geo TV director Taylor Rees navigating carefully. The mission sought to find new species in one of the world’s richest and least explored hotspots of diversity.

About the Amazon rainforest: Is it now contributing, not lessening, climate change?

THE BIG TAKEAWAY

Still helping: Nurse Leane Bulaong (above, at right with her family) is among up to 500,000 health workers of Filipino descent in the United States. Like many, she has endured long hours—except for the month in which she battled COVID-19 herself, writes nurse-photographer Rosem Morton for Nat Geo. In the image above, Bulalong’s youngest daughter, Jillian, 20, is on her laptop for a virtual nursing class. Below left, Bulalong’s oldest daughter, Jennifer, also a nurse, helps the family prepare food, and, at right, the two sisters share a laugh. The family’s deep devotion to care remains strong despite the pandemic and a wave of violence toward Asian Americans. (This work was supported by the National Geographic Society's COVID-19 Emergency Fund for Journalists.)

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On Monday, Debra Adams Simmons covers the latest in history. If you’re not a subscriber, sign up here to also get Victoria Jaggard on science, George Stone on travel, and Rachael Bale on animal and wildlife news.

THE LAST GLIMPSE

The full frame: This image, of workers painting ships docked in Norfolk, Virginia, appeared in a 1985 National Geographic story with a much tighter crop, focusing on the workers, says senior photo archivist Sara Manco. She chose the majesty of the full frame for us. “I personally think the original wide version gives a better sense of scale, texture, and delicate light used to create this photograph,” she says. Many of Karen Kasmauski’s photographs have focused on the human side of everything from earthquakes in Japan to oil exploration in Alaska. The longtime Nat Geo photographer now teaches at Washington’s Corcoran School of the Arts & Design.

Ships and more ships: The Suez Canal’s moment of infamy