Words by Lizzy Vartanian

Armenians have had a presence in the Arab world for centuries. Though most notably as a result of the Armenian Genocide of 1915, their presence in Palestine dates back millennia. The first Armenians arrived in Jerusalem during the forth century and it is here that the world’s largest community continues to reside until this day. Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as a state religion, and Jerusalem Armenians developed their community around the St James Church. There is even an Armenian quarter in the Old City, which contrastingly is the only quarter not dedicated to a major world religion.

Photography in Jerusalem

The first photographs of Jerusalem were not taken by neither an Arab nor an Armenian. Louis Daguerre invented photography in France in 1826, and early adopters of photography began taking photographs of the Arab world almost immediately, with Egypt and Jerusalem being amongst their favorite locations. The first known image of Jerusalem is a photograph of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre taken by Frenchman Joseph Philibert Girault de Prangey in 1844.

The Armenian Influence on Photography in Jerusalem

The story begins with Yessai Garabedian, the Armenian patriarch of Jerusalem, who came to Jerusalem from Diyarbakir in 1844 to study theology and later became the archivist of the St James Church. It is believed that Garabedian first started learning and practicing photography himself in 1857. He had spent time in Istanbul, which is where the famed Abdullah brothers – the Armenian official photographers to Sultan Abdulaziz – practiced. Armenians had already dominated the photography scene in Turkey, and it is thought that Armenians were at the forefront of the craft, because photographing others was seen as more permissible in Christianity than in Islam.

As well as spending time in Istanbul, Garabedian made a trip to Paris in 1863 where he learnt about the latest developments in photography. It is perhaps this trip that inspired him to set up the first ever photography workshop in the entire Arab region – at the St James Church. He was elected Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem in 1865 and spent 28 years teaching photography to Orthodox Armenians and Christian Arabs, with the aim of using photography to educate them about the holy sites. With famed photographer Garabed Krikorian – the photographer who taught Khalil Raad – amongst his students.

The First Photography Studio in Jerusalem

Garabed Krikorian via British Mandate Jerusalemites Photo Library

While Garabedian never opened his own commercial studio, his students did. Garabed Krikorian is thought to be one of Garabedian’s most successful students. It was Krikorian who opened the first commercial photography studio on Jerusalem’s Jaffa Road in the 1870s. His work consisted mainly of portraiture and he kept photography in the family, with his son taking over his studio in 1913.

Palestine’s First Arab Photographer, and His Armenian Teacher

Krikorian is probably most remembered today for having trained Khalil Raad, Palestine’s first Arab photographer. Raad was actually Lebanese and began training in Krikorian’s studio in 1890. However, Krikorian and Raad eventually became rivals when the latter opened his own photography studio on the same street as his tutor. In the end, Krikorian’s son went on to marry Raad’s niece. Their daughter Aida would later hand-color her father’s photographs.

What About Gaza?

Armenians didn’t just have an impact on the photography scene in Jerusalem: they were important photographic figures across Palestine. In 1944 – nearly 70 years after Garabed Krikorian opened his studio in Jerusalem – Kegham Djeghalian opened the first photography studio in Gaza.

Djeghalian was born in modern day Anatolia in 1915 – the same year that the Armenian Genocide began. He fled to Syria with his mother and moved to Palestine in his teens. It is thought that he learnt about photography in Jerusalem and decided to open a studio on Gaza’s famed Omar Muktar Street, seeing it as a business opportunity as there were few Armenians in Gaza at that time.

Photo Kegham

As well as making studio portraits, Djeghalian photographed daily life in Gaza and mentored other photographers in the city. He kept taking photographs during and after the Nakba, documenting images of refugee camps and important political moments. It is said that he was the go-to person for all things photography – from film to printing – even creating a network of Armenian photographers across Palestine, who were assisting with Egyptian intelligence when Israel occupied Gaza.

Kegham’s Legacy

Via @armenianvisuals

While Djeghalian’s family left Gaza for Egypt in 1967, he refused to leave, and remained in Gaza until his death in 1981. The studio was subsequently left to his assistant. In 2018, Djeghalian’s grandson – also a photographer called Kegham Djeghalian – stumbled across a box of more than 1,000 photographs belonging to his grandfather. These images later became the subject of an exhibition in Cairo, prompting wider interest in Djeghalian’s work. Djeghalian Jr is now working to archive his grandfather’s images and create a book for his archive lives on.

The Armenians Who Founded the Palestinian Photography Scene