NYU Abu Dhabi unearths 1,500 historic photos from across the Middle East and North Africa

Organised into 12 albums, the collection includes a rare image of the first gusher at Kirkuk's Baba Gurgur oil field from 1927 and a 1902 Algerian travelogue

A portrait captured in Damascus, Syria in 1966 from Sommerreise in den Nahen Osten (Summer Trip to the Near East). All Photos: Akkasah: Photography Archive, NYUAD

Sommerreise in den Nahen Osten (Summer Trip to the Near East). Merchants and a musician playing a guembri in Lebanon, 1966

Sommerreise in den Nahen Osten (Summer Trip to the Near East). A portrait of a man wearing an aghal and keffiyeh in Palestine, 1966

Mena House Hotel, Giza, Egypt, 1898

A caravan arrives at Bethlehem, Palestine, 1898

Kucuk Hasan Pasha Mosque, Crete, 1898

A man in the courtyard of the Umayyad Mosque, Damascus, Syria, in 1898

A street scene beside Jaffa Gate including a photography studio and barbers in Jerusalem, Palestine, 1898

Vers la Tunisie...Sur le Kairouan (A Trip to Tunisia on the Kairouan). Stonemasons work at Dar Chaabane El Fehri, Nabeul, Tunisia, circa 1951

Vers la Tunisie...Sur le Kairouan (A Trip to Tunisia on the Kairouan). A woman weaves on a loom in Matmata, Tunisia, circa 1951

First oil gusher at Baba Gurgur in Kirkuk, Iraq. 1927

H E Irving Taylor's A trip in Algeria, 1901-1902. Constantine, Algeria, 1902

The Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania (Kubr-er-Rumia), Tipaza, Algeria, from Africa Album - A trip across northern Algeria, 1912-1920

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya in Mumbai, originally named Prince of Wales Museum of Western India, in use as a Children's Welfare Centre and a Military Hospital during WWI. From Aviation in Mesopotamia Campaign WWI, circa 1917

Iraq and Kurdistan - compiled by an RAF serviceman. A group portrait of several men and children pose in front of an airplane in Iraq, circa 1936-1938

Iraq and Kurdistan - compiled by L Wells of RAF Hinaidi. From the top left clockwise: an aerial view of Baghdad, men at a chaikhana (tea house), a view of Al Rashid Street, and scribes. Baghdad, Iraq, circa 1934-1936

Iraq and Kurdistan - compiled by L Wells of RAF Hinaidi. Baghdad, Iraq. Circa 1934-1936. A copper smith. Copyright Akkasah: Photography Archive, NYUAD

Women and children march for peace during the Iran Oil Crisis. Iran, 1951

Hand drawn front page of Impressions of Iraq compiled by L Wells of RAF Hinaidi, circa 1929

A group portrait of several men and children in Ahvaz, Iran (Sheikh Mizal Khan's men), from Photographs of Iran, Iraq, Caucasus and Turkey - A.P.H. Hotz, circa 1890

NYU Abu Dhabi has published a striking series of 1,500 digitised photographs from across the Middle East and North Africa, dating back to the late 19th century.

Released by the Akkasah, the photography archive at the university’s Al Mawrid Arab Centre for the Study of Art, the photos include snapshots of history, spanning Iraq, Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Algeria, Tunisia, Turkey and Iran.

Collections management archivist Jasmine Soliman, who catalogued the series with NYUAD alumna Emily Broad, says the institution owes its diverse archive to its flexible model of building collections.

“In addition to acquiring photographs, we work with individuals and families who want their collections to be digitally archived and shared on akkasah.org, whilst they retain the physical photographs. Over 2,800 of the images currently online are a result of 'digitise and return' collaborations,” says Soliman.

She adds: “The photographs date from the 1890s to the 1960s and feature incredible diversity of regional dress, customs, architecture, landscapes and daily life.”

Among the rarest images is a photo taken of the Baba Gurgur (Father of Fires) drilling site in Kirkuk, Iraq. Captured not long after its discovery, the image depicts the first gusher which erupted on October 1927.

The images are organised into 12 albums – including a naturalist’s travelogue of Algeria in 1902 and another depicting peaceful protests during the Iran Oil Crisis of 1951.

The Akkasah archive aims to compile and preserve the diverse photographic practices and histories across the Middle East and North Africa. Of its more than 35,000 images, about 13,000 are already online, and the archive is open proposals from scholars, students and the general public.

To view the full archive, visit akkasah.org