Friday, April 28, 2017

On The Top and At The Foot of Mt. Carmel




With Passover over, I felt I needed a change of scenery. So, I joined a day trip to Daliat el Carmel, the  colorful druze village on the top of Mt. Carmel, and to Ein Hod, the artists's colony, at the foot of this mountain, domineering from above the northern city-port of Haifa.

We were to meet there with the art of two very special people: Bothaina Halabi of Daliat El Carmel, a young druze painter who has dedicated her work to  the commemoration of the Holocaust, and Nisco (Nissan Cohen) of Ein-Hod, the founder of the museum of musical boxes collection.

Bothaina lives with her handsome husband and three children in a 2-storey house. The ground storey has a gallery, a lecture hall, toilets, a tiny kitchen where refreshments  are prepared (druze hospitality is famous), and where some locally produced druze specialties are sold to visitors.   It's a family 'affair'. Husband and children help out with everything.


the 2-storey house


to the upper storey

entrance to ground storey (galery &lecture hall)

garden

Jars of green olives; two of the children in charge of the mini shop

The daughter's declamation in front of the audience (something about her commitment to the subject of the Holocaust) ,followed by the son's playing some adequate tunes on the flute, preceeded Bothaina's lecture and 'opened the show' , so to speak. That was quite lovely.

Son playing the flute

The interesting thing about Bothaina's art is its theme: the horrors of the Holocaust, and also the fact that she doesn't sell her paintings; she considers them her thoughts, her babies. She earns a living from teaching art and from lectures on her various activities.


letters of appreciation for her art and contributions

Her original paintings are in the gallery. When lecturing she uses replicas to explain and demonstrate things (the replicas are stored in an adjacent room; the husband brings them out and hands them to her one by one  to explain their subject).

originals on the galery wall

visitor, a Holocaust survivor, contemplating originals

husband helping with the replica pictures

husband waiting to hand Bothaina the next picture

During the second part of our visit, we were given a briefing on the druze sect by a druze retired army officer and lecturer . Nothing I didn't know. but coming from a druze it became strong, solid fact. The druze are a rather unique ethno-religious middle-eastern group with communities in Lebanon, Syria,Israel, Jordan, and with overseas branches in America and Austrlia.

The druze people are monoteistic and strongly believe in reincarnation. Dating and Marriage with outsiders is not allowed.  Their symbol is a five coloured flag (green,red, yellow,blue and white) which strenghtens their sense of unity..


 see the druze flag in front of house

* About Nisco of Ein-Hod and his musical boxes - in a future post.

30 comments:

  1. Hi. Those paintings are powerful, aren't they?
    J x

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    1. Hi Joy.
      Indeed, the paintings are very powerful, both through their theme (Holocaust scenes) and colors ( use of a lot of black and grey).

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  2. What an interesting visit, Duta, and what a bonded family to be working together in the art gallery.

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    1. Very attractive,young family dealing with a heavy,sombre subject. They all seem very well "orchestrated" - after all, they're also trying to run a 'business' here, though one with a strong message. They get visitors from abroad too, not only from within the country and that requires planning abilities.

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    1. Hi rainfield61,

      Welcome to my blog, and welcome as a new visitor at the Bothaina Galery in the druze village of Daliat-El-Carmel!

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  4. Nice paintings...and interesting visit! Have a great week ahead, Duta :)

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    1. Thank you. The paintings depict some hard scenes, so I would say they're powerful, and strongly appealing to our senses.

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  5. Fantastic tour, dear Duta, and I love the paintings. Beautiful photos! Thank you so much for sharing.

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    1. Fantastic, considering the fact that several years ago the area was endangered by a terrible forest fire.We had to ask help from foreign countries to extinguish the fire.

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  6. Selling paintings (or trying to) does take the fun out of art and creating. In my experience. Although, I've never created any art with such a deep, tragic and personal story. This must have been a very meaningful experience.

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    1. I suppose you're right. She's lucky, however, earning a living from her art without having to sell. On the other hand ,selling her paintings could make her rich, but this is probably not her aspiration.

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  7. The paintings are amazing, so powerful! I wondered while looking at them if it doesn't depress her to work on such a sad and tragic subject. But maybe it's her family harmony and happiness that bridges that gap for her? Regardless she's very talented and blessed with an amazing family. Great post DUTA!

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    1. She was asked about that.Well, she said she enjoys working on other subjects as well, landscapes for instance. I agree, however, with what you've implied: the harmony of the family. No way she would get depressed with such a family behind her.They seem to be ONE, so united and loving!

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  8. Hello Duta.
    Thank you for your visits to my Blog and thank you for noticing my little area where I list those loved ones I've lost over the years. I started blogging in 2008 and I hate seeing how long the list has become.
    Every time I see that on my sidebar, it gives me pause to take a second or two to think about those beloved people. Please do likewise if it will make you feel good about it.
    I applaud your ability to keep people interested in your blog and you have many who leave comments. I have not been doing a good job of blogging for some time. Just been posting photos and writing little notes. I used to write more and would love to get back to that. Someday, when time allows it.
    Thank you, again.
    Audrey

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    1. Thanks for your kind words. When I wrote my present post, I thought of your post where you list your beloved deceased ones. You see, my eldest sister (whom I never knew, as she was a baby, and I was not born yet), and my young aunt - both perished of hunger and disease in the Holocaust. My parents,my older brother, aunt and an uncle were all Holocaust survivors - and I intend to mention their names on my sidebar. Thanks again for the inspiration.

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  9. Those pictures are a treasure, glad they protect them. I. Ever heard of druze. You teach me a lot . What. Nice home

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    1. True. These are pictures of great value, and Bothaina is protecting them well by not selling them.
      As for the druze, they're relatively a small, and rather religiously mysterious group. So no wonder there are people who have never heard of them.

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  10. What an amazing trip. Thank you for sharing it.

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    1. I would say this trip was interesting from many angles: geographically,historically,culturally,socially, and religiously.

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  11. wow that sounds like a really powerful experience!

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    1. Krystal, it was indeed a powerful experience due to the paintings and their very special theme - the Holocaust.

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  12. Very interesting post, Duta! Love your name, by the way! I'm sure the paintings are very impressive to see in person and I can't imagine painting so many on such a horrible occurrence without feeling overwhelmed emotionally. I remember visiting Dachau Concentration Camp and seeing the humongous photos of the Holocaust, the carnage, and still the scent was in the air, this was back in mid 1960's, 21 years after it closed. Kudos to Bothaina and her family also for making it their project! The druze sect is new to me, interesting! Thanks and have a great week!

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    1. Thank you, Pam. Actually 'Duta' is the name I'm called by family and friends, not the official name in the ID card.

      Someone like you who has visited Dachau, the ghetto in Germany, near Munich, is able to appreciate Bothaina's paintings and well understand their significance.

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  13. I so enjoy these virtual tours when I visit your blog. I know I am always going to find something interesting. What stunning art.

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    1. Bothaina is considered the pride of the druze village for the reputation her art got. Many visitors from both Israel and abroad come to see her stunning paintings.

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  14. What an interesting group of people. Bothaina's dedication to her art and her determination to keep all of the paintings is admirable.

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    1. I agree with your opinion. She's to be admired both for her art and for her decision to keep it in her home galery and not sell it.

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  15. What a fascinating post and beautiful art. Thank you for sharing.

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    1. Thanks, Lois for your kind words.
      Welcome to my little blog.

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