This collection is made up of materials relating to the wider area around Bethlehem. Since Ottoman times, Bethlehem has been an important regional hub, serving as a religious and trading centre for dozens of surrounding villages and Bedouin communities. These images capture some of the people and places from that wider area.
The original photographs, along with the digitisations displayed here, are held in the Matson Collection at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.