By Pablo Duer Jerusalem, Jul 4 (EFE) .- A set of rare photos depicting poverty, religious fervor, cultural diversity and the dusty stones of Jerusalem 150 years ago of have been published for the first time by the National Library of Israel. The unique snapshots of Jerusalem and other holy places, then controlled by the Ottoman Empire, were taken by some of the few professional photographers of the time during their travels and depict quotidian scenes. The beautiful images featuring the Mount of Olives, Wailing Wall, Esplanade of the Mosques, Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the alleys of the Old City, offer a glimpse into what life could have been like at that time. "It is thrilling to see, sometimes, the huge difference between what it was in the past and what it is today and what we have achieved in this city, in this land in the last 150 years," Gil Weissblei, archivist and researcher at the National Library, told Efe The impoverished streets of the city, the contrast between well-dressed tourists and locals, and the lack of infrastructure reflect the difference between the Holy Land and Europe in those years. The Damascus Gate, for example, nowadays has food places, markets, street vendors and a vibrant life, but in an image dated 1899 looks derelict with an unpaved dirt road that camels and horses trotted up and down. "You have a glimpse into the 19th century, you can imagine how it was, you can imagine yourself inside that picture, you can feel the passage of time," Weissblei added. "At that time there were no borders, so the photographers who visited the region went without a problem from Damascus to Beirut and Jerusalem," something that today is forbidden due to the animosity between Israel and its neighbors, Syria and Lebanon. The 500 odd images on show were mostly donated to the National Library by both photographers and collectors who had been buying them over the years. The printing method used for the majority of them was the albumen print, a paper-based printing procedure in which the images were printed onto a very thin sheet of paper. The weight, price and difficulty of handling the cameras of the time made it difficult for tourists and pilgrims visiting the region to take their own images, so professional photographers sold their pictures for visitors to add to their travel albums. Many of the photographs were captured by Felix Bonfils - a Frenchman who was one of the first commercial photographers to portray the Middle East - and the Italian Luigi Fiorillo. Their pictures offer proof of how well preserved many of the historical and religious buildings are, as well as the small alleys and corners of the Old City which today tourists take very similar snapshots of. One of the largest differences between 19th century Jerusalem and the present day is its people. A good example of this is an image of the Wailing Wall, the most sacred place of worship for the Jewish religion. In the vintage snapshot people of different ethnic groups and both men and women mix something that would be unthinkable nowadays. EFE pd-aca/ch -- EPA-EFE Multimedia Desk, Madrid +34 913 467 493