Heatwave day 2

Men hiding under trees

It's 37 degrees right now ... extremely hot and humid. Most muslim men who are fasting for Ramadan but have come out for fresh air are all hiding the shade of trees. A group of cyclists abandoned their bikes on the road at Damascus Gate and gathered under the Gate for shade. There are no birds or butterflies ... everything has gone not hiding and conserve water. Tomorrow is forecast to be even hotter. I'll have to remember to drink more liquids otherwise I'll get sick again.

Yesterday's Nakba Day saw a spike in violence. Nakba Day is the palestinian answer to the Israeli Jerusalem Day celebrated on May 21st - 22nd. Israelis celebrate the unification of East Jerusalem (under Jordan before 1968) to West Jerusalem (Israeli control) whereas the palestinians recall the lost of their land on that day ... resulting in thousands of refugees, homeless and stateless as they were driven out. Yesterday there was an attempted pipe-bombing 4km south of Jerusalem, 2 policemen shot in another village, and some other sporadic clashes in various parts of the country. In Iran we read that the tombs of Esther and Mordecai were burnt. What a pity ... I was there 2 decades ago and it was a beautiful place. The rabbi was very friendly and gave me a rosary as a souvenir.

Lunch today

Schools have mostly reopened and tomorrow will see the total opening of all levels of education. But just as soon as it reopened, a teacher in the city of Rehovot was tested positive of the virus and his class of 52 students have been sent to isolation and the school has closed again. This seems to point to a situation when some institutions are simply not ready for opening ... and disasters like this happen.  

My bp is almost normal ... fluctuating from 115 to 125 on the upper end. I've not felt dizzy or nausea for 2 days now so that's good news. The chinese sisters made buns with garlic chives and cooked celery/seaweed soup with salted vegetables. I got some rice from the kitchen and had a lovely chinese lunch. And I've tried to sleep longer hours. No stress.