Sandstorm

Sandstorm in the air

A sandstorm crept over us today .... unbelievable the dust and sand from the southern desert. It was humid and hot. Though the weather stations say it's 23 degrees, it feels more like 28 or more. And the sky is all grey and yellowish. Already one of our students felt sick this morning. The air pressure must have gotten onto him. Its normal in weather like this to feel dizzy and light-headed due the high pressure system in the atmosphere.

It's also normal for these desert winds to blow at this time of the year. They're known locally as hamsin or 50 (hence we get "pentecost" = 50 days) because it blows for about 50 days between Passover (Easter) to Pentecost. We just have to be careful and drink lots of water and cover your eyes, nose and mouth as sand gets in everywhere.

Israeli scientists have come up with a nasal spray that'll kill 99.9% of nasal viruses. It'll be on sale soon. I'm wondering if I should take it as preventive medicine. Not sure what side effects it has or if I can use with it with all my allergies.   https://www.timesofisrael.com/life-saving-nose-spray-that-kills-99-9-of-viruses-begins-production-in-israel/?fbclid=IwAR0bDpphzYbnXgtriJ5dNkWzfkvEcYU-UveCz0bNP2Gykaq8iyTJhfnav4g

New Gate police block

Yesterday police presence was stepped up and the City Gates were blocked. Everyone going in was checked and I could easily see that 70% of the people were turned away. As I tried to enter New Gate, I noticed that everyone was muslim ... and they came from outside Jerusalem or Palestine. These are not allowed to enter the Old City ... not sure why ... whether political or medical. For sure the pandemic is rampant in Palestine and many cities are under a 20 day lockdown. Yesterday a vaccine rollout started. Let's hope they'll get vaccinated instead or listening to rumours and scare-mongers not to be vaccinated.

Tomorrow is Election Day. So it's a national holiday for Israeli citizens. I expect the Old City will be packed with local tourists. Not what I look forward to if I have to go out. I'm used to the quiet empty streets for a year now ... I'm not ready for crowds.