Girls at the Harem al-Sharif

This is one of my favorite Polaroids that I've ever taken. I was in Jerusalem in 2006; it was the first time I had been there since I was living there while doing my dissertation research in 1998-1999, and the city was far more depressed and restrictive than at that time. Still, my love for the people of the Old City, as well as its peerless holy and historic sites, didn't stop me from spending as much time as possible walking the streets with my cameras and talking with Jerusalemites. On my last day there, I went up to the Dome of the Rock, known to Muslims as the Harem al-Sharif, or Holy Sanctuary, and came across these three young women coming down from the Shrine. I took the moment to take their photo, and it was really amazing to watch it develop with them! We chatted a little bit while the photo emerged as only a Polaroid can, like magic, and then said our goodbyes. They went down from the site and into the Old City while I went up to the monument one last time. I asked them to pose for an up-close portrait, but they refused. That's fine; what a portrait I have by which to remember them!


Girls at the Harem al-Sharif (2006)
Camera: Polaroid SX-70, Alpha 1, Model 2
Film: Polaroid Time-Zero
Location: Jerusalem