This black-and-white photograph taken in Jerusalem’s Old City souk in January 1967 shows an elderly Palestinian merchant dressed in traditional Middle Eastern attire seated amid the tools and goods of his small shop. Beside him are weighing scales, wrapping paper, and stacks of rectangular blocks that appear to be traditional olive-oil soap, although the original caption does not identify the type of soap. The possibility is particularly fitting given Jerusalem’s long history of olive-oil soap production and trade, including in Souk Khan al-Zeit, whose name and history are tied to olive oil and soap-making.
The merchant offers an intimate glimpse into the everyday commercial life of Arab Jerusalem during the final months of Jordanian rule.