Google Doodle honors Palestinian photographer

Google commemorated the 123rd birthday of Palestinian photographer Karimeh Abbud with a custom doodle. The November 18th Google Doodle depicts Abbud looking at a landscape through the lens of a camera.

Abbud was born in 1896 in Nazareth. She was the daughter of a well-known Protestant minister. Her father gifted her a camera for her 17th birthday and she later began to identify herself as “Lady Photographer.”

She studied Arabic literature at the American University of Beirut. She is believed to be the first female professional photographer in Palestine.

Her photography career began when she started earning money by taking pictures of women and children. She eventually opened her own photography studio and became a prominent wedding photographer. Abbud is also known for her landscape photography, including photos she shot in archeological sites in the ancient Lebanese city of Baalbek.

Google expressed appreciation for Abbud’s landscape photography.

“Working in Palestine and Lebanon during the first half of the twentieth century, Abbud captured vast landscapes, many of which don’t exist today. Through her art, we’re able to experience the beauty of these regions as she saw them nearly 100 years ago,” Google states. “Thank you, Karimeh, for making art that endures.”