Vintage Postcards That Hold a Century of Middle Eastern Stories
From the monumental tombs of Petra to the spice-scented streets of Old Cairo, these vintage postcards capture the timeless soul of the Middle East.
With faded edges whispering of journeys long gone, and ink bleached soft by sun and time, vintage postcards of the Middle East feel like tiny portals. Delicate messengers carrying entire worlds in the span of a few centimetres. Hold one and you’re suddenly between eras, between continents, between strangers who once stopped mid-journey to marvel at a region that has watched empires rise and recede like tides.
Inside each frame is a moment suspended: Beirut’s palm-lined boulevards before the city learned to reinvent itself a dozen times; Jerusalem’s domes shimmering at first light; Cairo’s riverbanks glowing gold as feluccas drift lazily by; Jordan’s desert stretching into a stillness that feels almost lunar. Flip them over and the handwriting trembles with intimacy: quick confessions of wonder, longing, homesickness, all sent from one life to another.
Together, these postcards form a visual chorus. They capture a Middle East caught between tradition and transformation, real and imagined, shaped by the eyes of locals, wanderers, dreamers, and passersby. They’re fragments of curiosity and commerce, of soft emotions tucked into envelopes that crossed oceans.
To hold one is to touch the world as it once paused; to feel the echo of places that still move, change, and breathe beneath the warm patina of memory.
Arab Churchyard and Mosque of Sultan Ali, Cairo, Egypt. 1895-1919.
The Manger of Nativity, Bethlehem, Palestine. 1908.
Anciennes Murailles à Yedikule, Istanbul, Turkey. 1895-1966.
The crumbling ramparts of Constantinople’s ancient city walls stand sentinel over quiet fields, while travellers on horseback pause on the winding road below.
Corniche, Abu Dhabi, UAE. 1900s.
A vintage view of Abu Dhabi shows a corniche walkway over turquoise water, bordered by a green park and set against a dense skyline of towering skyscrapers.
Place de l'Église, Alexandria, Egypt. 1900-1908.
Monument de la République, Istanbul, Turkey. 1908.
General View of Bethlehem, Palestine. 1908.
View of Salalah, Oman. 1900s.
The quiet, arid ground of Salalah serves as the foreground for a simple, domed tomb structure and an adjacent white-walled building, which are set against the wide, clear horizon.
Mosquée Süleymaniye, Istanbul, Turkey. 1900s.
Pyramide de Saqqarah, Al Badrashin, Egypt. 1900.
View of Muttrah, Oman. 1900-1910.
Hajj Pilgrims, Makkah, Saudi Arabia. 1900s.
A sea of white tents marks the Hajj in Saudi Arabia, spreading across the plain beneath the mountains.
Water Cart, Aden, Yemen. 1900s.
View of Madinah Market, Saudi Arabia. 1900s.
A chaotic and colourful Madinah Market scene fills the foreground, where a throng of people and camels crowd the open ground.
Long Beach Club, Raouche, Lebanon. 1900s.
Al-Deir, Petra, Jordan. 1910-1930.
The colossal façade of Al-Deir, carved into the sheer sandstone mountain, looms over the rugged desert floor in Petra.
