The British photographer Francis Bedford (1816-1894) was the son of an eminent architect. He started his career as draughtsman and lithographer, and showed his work in group exhibitions already in 1833. By 1850 he had become well-known for his coloured lithographs of architectural subjects. Around 1852, Bedford took up photography, with the initial aim of enriching his knowledge and enhancing his technique in lithography. In 1853 he became co-founder of the Royal Photographic Society. At that time, photography was becoming indispensable to several fields of knowledge. Archaeologits, architects, naturalists, geologists, anthropologists and art historians documented their studies with photographic shots.
In 1854 Queen Victoria and Prince Albert asked Bedford to photograph works of art from their collection. In the following year, Bedford showed these photographs in the annual exhibition, together with his landscape pictures. In 1857 he accompanied the royal family of Britain as their personal photographer. Already renowned as one of the best landscape photographers, he travelled and took pictures all over Britain.
In 1862 Bedford was chosen as one of the eight personal escorts of Prince Albert in the latter's tour of the Eastern Mediterranean (Egypt, the Holy Land, Turkey and Greece). During the tour, he took two hundred and ten shots, several of which were engraved in wood and published in the "Illustrated London News” and later in an Album. Bedford continued to travel and take photographs in Wales and England until 1884. He took part in international exhibitions in his homeland and other European countries, and was a member of the board of the Royal Photographic Society.
During his journey to the Middle East, Bedford was the first to photograph monuments and ancient ruins of the area. His pictures of the Druze-Maronite massacre (1862) spurred the public's interest in the events and people of the East. Today, the photographs of his album are very much sought-after in international auctions.

Written by Ioli Vingopoulou

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  Tower of Galata, Istanbul. On the foreground, a Muslim cemetery. In the background, on the right, itinerant traders of the city.

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  The Fountain of Sultan Ahmed III on the entrance of Top Kapi Palace, Istanbul.

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  View of Istanbul from the Tower of Bayezid or Seraskier Tower. In the background, Valide Sultan mosque.

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  Title page.

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  The Pyramids of Giza necropolis. In the foregroun,d the Prince of Wales visiting the site.

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  The Mamluk mosque of Sultan Hassan as seen from the mosque of Mehmed Ali, Cairo. In the foreground, part of the alabaster exterior of the mosque.

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  Fountain of the inner court of the mosque of Sultan Hassan, Cairo.

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  Tombs of Mamluk Sultans, Cairo.

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  The Sphinx and the Pyramid of Cheops at Giza necropolis.

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  The colonnade of the temple of Isis at Philae, Egypt.

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  Trajan's kiosk at Philae, near Assouan.

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  The façade of the Ptolemaic temple dedicated to the god Horus at Apollonopolis Magna (Edfu), Egypt.

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  The colossal statues of Amenophis III (Colossi of Memno) at Thebes, Egypt.

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  The colonnade of the temple of Luxor (Thebes) with the colossal statues of Ramesses II.

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  View of Yafffa from the west.

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  Ruins of modern settlement in the vicinity of the ancient city of Bethoron.

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  View of the settlement of Al-Jib (ancient Gibeon) in Palestine.

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  View of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. In the background the mosque of Dome of the Rock.

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  Mount Zion, Jerusalem. In the foreground, part of the enclosure of the mosque of Dome of the Rock. In the background, on the left, the minaret of the pasha's house.

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  The mosque of Dome of the Rock at Jerusalem.

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  The “spring minbar” of the mosque of Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem (Mamluk period).

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  Mosque of Al-Aqsa, Jerusalem.

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  Façade of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem.

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  The Mount of Olives as seen from the mosque of Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem.

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  The Garden of Gethsemane at the feet of Mount of Olives, Jerusalem.

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  The monuments known as tombs of Josaphat, Absalom and Zechariah at Kidron Valley, Jerusalem.

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  The village of Siloam and Gehena valley, Jerusalem.

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  The walls of Jerusalem seen from the garden of Gethsemane.

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  The Shepherds' Field at the village of Beit Sahur outside Bethlehem.

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  Bethany from the east.

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  Mar-Saba monastery close to Bethlehem, Palestine.

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  View of Hebron. In the background, the Herodian building housing the Cave of the Patriarchs, resting place of Abraham, Sarah, Isaak, Rebecca, Jacob and Leah according to the Jewish and Muslim traditions.

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  View of Nablus, Palestine.

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  Manuscript of the Samaritan Pentateuch photographed by the author at Nablus, probably Abisha scroll.

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  The Sea of Galiliee (Lake Tiberias).

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  Possible site of the biblical city of Kapernaum.

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  Landscape at ancient Caesarea Philippi or Panias (today Banias), at the feet of Mount Hermon (Golan Heights).

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  Landscape at Mount Hermon.

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  Remains of Roman temple at the village of Deir al-Ashayer, Syria.

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  The Straight Street (Via Recta) of Damascus, built in the Roman era.

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  On the left, the temple of Zeus. On the right, the temple of Bacchus.

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  Ruins of the temple of Zeus (foreground) and of Bacchus (middleground), at Baalbek, Lebanon.

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  View of the northern wall of the temple of Bacchus at Baalbek, Lebanon, from the interior of the site.

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  View of Mount Lebanon from the village of Eden.

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  Monastery of Saint John the Theologian on Patmos island.

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  View of Athens from the Acropolis. On the right, the Royal Palace (today Parliament of Greece) and Lycabettus hill. On the left, the cathedral church of Athens (Metropolis).

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  Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens. In the background, the Acropolis.

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  Parthenon from the southwest.

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  Erechtheion temple from the east.