Makloubeh day

Jerusalem Light Rail today

Another busy day. Somehow I'm not feeling up to it. Perhaps the heat has something to do with it ... but also I'm terribly fatigued. My left leg feels like a piece of wood .... numb and heavy. Walking to work and back is not something I look forward to when my leg is not obeying my brain. And I did have a bit of sunstroke.

A walk in the New City shows that life is back to normal ... except there're lots of students hanging about. The school holidays have begun ... though some schools are still in exam mode. Kids who are in the holidays gather in squares and shopping malls enjoying themselves for a few days before they're sent off to summer camps.

Makloubeh today

Then a visit to our enormous kitchen at St. Saviour monastery to chat with the cooks ... they had just cooked several huge pots of makloubeh or "upside down". It's a dish where meat and vegetables are covered by rice and cooked in huge pots. When cooked the pot is turned upside-down so the rice lands at the bottom and the meat/vegetables are on the top. Delicious.

The Israeli army is holding its largest military drill up in the north ... a warning to Lebanon's Hezbollah. Yes tensions have subsided but military posturing continue ... let's just hope to stops there.

And some good news for Gaza ... Israel is planning a new sewage line to handle the enclave's broken-down system. And Qatar is sending experts to work with Israel in studying installing a new power line. That would all mean hygiene and electricity to the impoverished people. Let's hope it'll all come true. Everyone deserves a break.