KARACHI, March 10: A 12-day photographic exhibition featuring the social and cultural life of Palestine during the Ottoman era opened at the National Museum of Pakistan on Wednesday.

The show, which comprises 160 black-and-white photographs, has been organized by the consulate general of the Republic of Turkey. Turkish consul-general Hayati Soysal said the exhibition showed that the Muslims, Jews and Christians could coexist with one another peacefully in the Middle East. He pointed out that these communities had lived peacefully during the rule of the Ottomans.

"After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, these holy territories have witnessed new rulers and unfortunately many wars. However, some remarkable features of the empire can still be observed in the course of daily socio-cultural life in Palestine. The Ottoman concept is still in the historical memories of the Palestinian people," he observed.

He said the exhibition was made up of a collection of photographs belonging to the Turkish Consulate General in Jerusalem, taken in Palestine in the late Ottoman era between 1850-1917.

"It is the outcome of scrupulous research carried out by Huseyin Avin Bicakli, the current Turkish consul general in Jerusalem," he said, adding that the exhibition had already been held in Jerusalem, Bethelem, The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Bulgaria and Iran.

"The aim of the exhibiton is to shed light on developments in Palestine in the late Ottoman period, as well as to familiarize the viewers with social activities of the local population, their beliefs and their ways of life," he said.

The assitant curator of the National Museum of Pakistan, Mohammad Shah Bokhari, said the photographs in the exhibition were grouped into three sections: urban development; social, religious and political life; and World War I.

He said the museum had selected 160 photographs out of the 1,500 photographs provided by the consulate general of the Republic of Turkey. The Sindh minister for excise and taxation, Rauf Siddiqui, also spoke.

An official of the National Museum of Pakistan said three exhibits - a model of the Dome of the Rock, a souvenir of Ataturk, and tiles from the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul - had also been put on display in connection with the ongoing show.