More rain

If only we could learn from them ...

What a weekend. 3 missiles from Syria fell into the Golan Heights and Israel sent warnings in reaction. Then lots of missiles (85) were fired into southern Israel from Gaza, and Israel fired in return - deaths and injuries resulted. As usual, all this is just testing the waters after Obama won the elections. It's positioning ... like fighting fish flaring and circling each other. If only we can learn from the two babies in the pic.

And there were earthquakes all over the world during the weekend: twice in Guatemala, then Burma, Kentucky, Papua New Guinea, the Kuril islands ... all over the magnitude of 5.

And it rained the whole day yesterday. Flooding in Eilat and other coastal cities from Tel Aviv (south) to Haifa (north). While it caused alot of inconvenience, no one is complaining because we need the rain so very much. The wind gets pretty strong up in the hill country ... and it was 10 degrees last night. I got my heater out.

So much for the weekend ... is it a foretaste for the rest of the week?

Feast of St. Leo

Storm clouds gathering
before the downpour

It actually rained ... I mean, rain!!! Not drizzle like the last few days but real rain!!! All night too! Just when we thought it won't rain. The temperature dropped to 12 degrees or so ... but it felt like 10 degrees. And a very strong easterly wind was blowing. Feels like real winter at last. In fact we even had a blackout at about 11pm ... incredible! Like the good old days when we had several blackouts a day because the rain short-circuited the centuries old electric system of the Old City. We had to have candles in every room and every staircase. And we had to study for our exams by candlelight. If anything, last night was a tiny reminder of what used to be 20 years ago.

Most of us felt the coming of the rain yesterday evening - our joints began to ache. My knees were so painful I couldn't climb up and down the stairs. I was sure the rain would come. Natural weather station.

Today is also the Feast of St. Leo the Great, the pope who stopped Attila the Hun from destroying Rome in the 5th century. Well, St. Leo must be great ... he did bring the rain!!

Festival time

The forecasted thunderstorm didn't come to Jerusalem ... though it rained all over the rest of Israel. The temperature did drop though, some 5 degrees compared to yesterday. It was cold. And very cloudy and gloomy. Typically winter except it did not rain. What a pity.

A gargoyle amusing kids

Yesterday was the last day of the Medieval Jerusalem Festival. It takes place for 4 consecutive Thursdays from mid-October to November. And it draws thousands upon thousands of Israelis and tourists into the Christian Quarter of the Old City. Following a fixed route along the alleys of the Quarter, performers do their stuff to wow kids and adults. Starting from Jaffa Gate plaza, the King and Queen of Medieval (Crusader) Jerusalem were entertained by troubadours. Then the route follows through the winding streets with performers, flying dragons, centaurs, gargoyles, demons, King Arthur and Excalibur, demons and lots of dancers and dragons at every corner and crossing. Very fun, but very packed; so packed you can't turn round and go back. You just follow the flow of the crowd, covering about 600 meters around the Christian Quarter.

King Arthur and a young fan

A centaur mingling with
the crowds

The fountain at the Muristan
becomes a stage

A demon draws a crowd

         




   

Musicians performing
 music

A giant red dragon flies across
 ancient walls of King Herod's Palace

   

Curry

The pesky mosquitoes are absolutely intolerable. No one has escaped their bites. Everyone has some red itchy spots on their hands, legs or face. Worse case scenario ... infectious boils. All on biblical proportions. Jerusalem is Egypt now!!! Where is Moses to lead us out???

Despite the rain in the night, the day is still unbearable hot and dry. It only encourages more mosquitoes to breed. I've sprayed my room with insecticide but they keep coming back. They don't die. They're immortal!

Lovely indian lunch at
the MC sisters

Had a very very busy day studying, teaching and working. Almost fainted from exhaustion and hunger at 3.30pm. Went to check on the painting work at the convent of the Missionaries of Charity (Mother Theresa). Luckily they had some lunch left over - curry, veggies and rice. I finished every bit of it. You can't believe how good simple food tastes when you're so hungry and tired.

Thanks to Yvonne Yeung, Poon Kong Ming, Melania & James, Rose Chiu, May Yu, Ma Fung Ming, Melania & James, and the Wednesday Group for their generosity to the poor. 

And a crocodile that escaped the Gaza Zoo 2 years ago has been captured in a sewage pit where it had been living ... and growing to become a 6 footer. Neighbourhood pets have been missing during that time. Made me think about Mr. Monster who escaped his biotope tank the other day ... if he managed to get into a drain, he might just grow into the next Godzilla. But nothing to fear ... the mosquitoes will finish him off.

Mr. Monster takes a walk

Lovely clear skies this morning
after the rain

Last night there was alot of lightening and thunder and intermittent showers. Quite unexpected. But it was very welcomed. The pattering of raindrops is something we rarely hear nowadays. And the rumbling of thunder ... well I think the little children would not have heard it before. This morning the air was clean and fresh. The sky was alot brighter with the first rays of the sun rising above the Mt. of Olives. Great sight!

So it was during the night storm that Mr. Monster decided to take a walk. I got up at 4.30am to study but noticed from the corner of my eye a little black thing walking along the wall of my room. It was Mr. Monster (that's my pet newt) up and about! How he got out of his tank is a mystery. And he was very dry by then and I thought he'd die of dehydration so I popped him back into his tank. Now that felt good for both of us. I wonder what would have happened if I stepped on him accidentally this morning ... yucks, what a mess. So now he's safely back in his biotope tank, eating mosquito larvae and swimming around happily. Hope he doesn't get out again though.

Mila defended her thesis for the Master's degree this morning. Interesting topic - on Huldah the prophetess. Unfortunately I couldn't stay for the whole event because I had a meeting. I hear she did very well. Good for her.

Stromata

The Lutheran Church in
central Bethlehem

Thunder, lightening and a heavy shower ... which lasted half and hour. Wasn't enough but we needed it. The air is cleaner now, the atmosphere less oppressively hot and smoggy. Walls and streets are washed clean, and a very cool breeze is now blowing. It should be a nice day tomorrow.

I managed to readjust my neck bones and this has relieved alot of pain. Well ... also because I managed to rest quite alot today. Managed also to do some reading of a new book on the topic of my research. Reading can be quite stressful when you have a dateline.

There's a lovely neo-gothic Lutheran church in the heart of Old Bethlehem, standing out in the sea of islam that has overtaken the city of David and the birthplace of Jesus. It's clock/bell tower though is a typically muslim spire. The sight of this church in winter snow is fabulous.

Han SuYin has died. A great novelist who revolutionalised the novel genre in Asia, about Asia. Also pioneer in highlighting the eurasian race. She's best remembered for her semi-biography "A Many Splendoured Thing" that later became a film shot in Hong Kong and immortalised by the song. So another literary milestone has passed on.

New Pope for Copts

The Copts have a new pope. He was elected this morning by a blindfolded altar boy .... actually it's every altar boy's dream ... to choose a pope!!! http://edition.cnn.com/2012/11/04/world/africa/egypt-coptic-pope/index.html?hpt=hp_t3  and  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20192922   Congratulations to all my Coptic friends!!

Great barbeque by the olive
grove

Thanks to my physiotherapist, the pain in my neck and shoulders have been greatly reduced. The kinetic tapes really work ... at least in my case. Now my (our) greatest pain is the terrible tiny mosquitoes that bite us everywhere. The bites result in swells, itch and in some cases infection. Everyone is moaning about it as there's nothing to stop them ... not even insect spray. It reminds me of the 10 plagues in Egypt ... mosquitoes ... it's really a plague. What we need are more frogs and lizards and bats!!!!

Faadi did up a great barbeque in his garden. His family invited me over and I found out it was Sabreen's birthday (Faadi's wife). Paco the dog ran out from his yard and went on a crazy chasing spree of the cats. He came home only when Sabreen offered him a piece of chicken. What a little greed can do ....