Of weather and parchments

The past 2 days saw heavy downpours throughout the country ... floodings and a dip in temperature.

Sara and a beautifully
decorated choral

But not one drop of rain in Jerusalem. Locals say it's a punishment on the Holy City. Nights can become as cold as 8 degrees. I finally have my heaters out. What a relief!

The bombings in Lebanon are causing jitters down here. Regional instability always has a domino effect in the Middle East. Yesterday morning Israeli jets bombed Gaza again after mortars were fired into Israel.  http://www.jpost.com/Defense/IAF-strikes-targets-in-Gaza-Strip-332303

A magnificent 16th
century choral in parchment
once used in the Basilica of
Bethlehem now in the library

Despite feeling very weak, I've been working full-time. That means walking up and down the City from one library to the other ... a total of 2 kms uphill and down. It's terribly tiring especially when my blood pressure is low and I'm feeling giddy all the time. But the "discovery" of ancient manuscripts, incunabulae and other treasures tucked away and long-forgotten in corners of the library is always a great moment. A student from Italy, Sara, is doing her doctoral research in ancient chorals (enormous hymn books used by monks, all handwritten on parchment) and she hunts through the library for these precious relics from the past. Once found, she has to literally lug them (some weigh several kilos and are over a meter in height) to a special table where she cleans each page, studies the contents and calligraphy, and write out a descriptive report. A long slow process but it's the first time a catalogue of the ancient chorals is being compiled.

Well the cold weather is good for bringing out and cleaning the parchments but the rain and damp can be very destructive. Will have to find a suitable place for Sara to do her research.