76 A Bird’s Eye View of Jerusalem – A Tour of the Illés Relief
What did Jerusalem look like more than 150 years ago, right before it began to change and expand outside the Old City walls? The focus of this tour will be on the Illés Relief, a magnificent and highly detailed model of Jerusalem in 1873. On display at the Tower of David Jerusalem Museum, the relief enables visitors to observe the city as it was at the end of the Ottoman period.
By way of the relief, we will embark on a journey to 19th century Jerusalem, between the walls, the gates, the streets and the buildings that shaped its appearance. We will examine what still remains until this very day, what has changed and is no longer recognizable, and what Stephan Illés chose to depict – in addition to what is left of the city outside the relief.
The two-hour tour will introduce participants to the special story behind the relief, which was created ahead of the World’s Fair in Vienna. They will hear where it has been since then, prior to returning to Jerusalem and providing extraordinary historical documentation of the city.
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