JOURNEYS TO OTHER LANDS Israel & Egypt
Retrieving my Karman Ghia from Sydney, my son and I met a lovely Israeli (Sabbrah) man called Avi Engelhard. He offered to drive us out of the traffic mayhem of Sydney back to rural Victoria where we were living at Tandarook outside Camperdown. He stayed with us over a 6 mth period and helped out with a young Julian and in creating great Middle-Eastern food for us as I worked as an Art Advisor in this Inspectorate covering Colac and the Otways , Camperdown to Skipton.
Avi needed to return home for an operation on his foot. When he arrived home, we received some presents and a letter inviting us to Israel…….. we went! After a few days stopover in Thailand and Athens, we flew in with a group of Ethiopian Jews (the lost tribe) and heat (despite their winter) palm trees and welcome arms. Avi’s mother, Miriam, was very welcoming and we had a new home at Buki Ben Yagli No 4 in Tel Aviv.
I had just been reading “The Source” by Leon Uris which made the visit even more significant to me. We were able to travel all over Israel and stay in Jerusalem and up in the mountains at Szfat, home of the mystics. Later as Avi recovered we travelled through the Negev desert, to Masada and Qumran where the Dead sea scrolls had been hidden, to the Dead Sea and stayed overnight at Ein Gedi before catching a bus to Cairo.
We watched out for the resident leopard at the Ein Gedi Wildlife Park as we roamed around looking at ancient rock paintings of Nubians and biblical kings fought it out for sandy territory in another epoch.
That night was a Holy Festival for the Jewish owners of the backpackers and there was a special meal. The thing that stood out for me was an older woman about 70. She and her husband were Danish artists and had always travelled and painted. He had recently died and she decided to continue the way they had always done together.
She had travelled in Egypt pretty much on her own which I thought was a pretty brave thing to do then in 1984. In consideration of the problem of getting ill she had mainly sustained herself on bottled water and oranges and whatever she could afford that seemed safe. As she sat there, in the Hannakah candlelight, long light-coloured hair, serenely composed, she seemed to be the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. The soft gentle light seemed to be her and of her. It left an indelible memory on me.
Sitting trying to do a sketch at Haifa (Jaffa), Israel
Julian out at about on donkeys to the Valley of the Kings in Egypt .
Always at one with animals. Jules with huge Alsatian dog which appeared out of nowhere in SZat, at the Artist's colony , in Israel.
Don Dunston opening the show at Purrumbete Homestead outside Camperdown in early 80's.Avi played with musos and my painting of him in front of Stoney Rises enviroment. My Freisan cow was a hit with Dunston and he asked to buy it but I wanted to sell both pieces together . He was flying to New York the next day so no time to discuss. rums drums
Egyptian image
Jill and I and Palm Trees
Manningham Prize Entry "Eygptian Eye"
Professor Quispel who managed to save many of the Dead sea Scrolls from Eygpt from being burnt for paper which would start nomad campfires in th desert.
Playing cricket at Tandarook
Tandarook bedroom memories
Tandarook schoolhouse studio
