Full moon

Full moon over 7 Arches

We had a brief respite from the heatwave on Monday as temps fell to the high 20s. But Tuesday the temp began climb again to the 30s and today at 7am you can already feel the sun scorching your skin. It was so hot the palm trees in our monastery in Bethany caught fire and fire-engines had to come and put it out.

A man died of dehydration in the Jericho desert after getting lost while hiking. His brother died under the same circumstances 20 years earlier. It's always dangerous to go into the desert in summer as the heat can strike you down suddenly. 

The full moon - a red super moon - was fantastic last night. It rose over the 7 Arches hotel at the end of Mt. of Olives and was utterly awesome. It was reddish yellow and very bright. The 7 Arches was built as a palace for Jordan's king before the State of Israel was founded. From there you can get a beautiful view of the Dead Sea, Mt. Nebo where Moses died and all the southern desert from Bethlehem onwards. 

My fall 2 weeks back has created a severe sciatica problem on my left side. It's painful to sit or lie down for long. I'll need to do some self-manipulation to get it adjusted. Meanwhile the wrist and ankle still hurt though it's not swollen as much as before. For a couple of days now I've been staying in my room to avoid the heat and also any further injury.