The Roof Of The World

"I must visit Nepal someday", I keep saying to myself.

My interest in Nepal began not through its Himalaya mountains with the Everest peak (the roof of the world). It started actually with a pair of... handknit thick woolen socks that warm my feet and my heart during winter.

thick socks for indoors

Wool is considered a magical material and the best insulating one, as it both absorbs and repels water, moisture (merino wool is the best on the market). I suppose the nepalese socks are designed to help survive the Himalayan winters, but they're ideal for any kind of winter, harsh as well as moderate. For those allergic to wool there are all sorts of acrylic fibers, but none can compete with wool. With these socks in winter, I really feel on the top of the world.
                                                 

white/grey/black, thinner socks for outdoors

I also have a pair of leg warmers, 2 pairs of hand mittens, and 2  hats of the same origin - Nepal villages.. I use them much less frequently than the socks as we have short, relatively moderate winters.

leg warmers

hand mittens

hats with ear flaps and lined with fleece

People that buy the handknit woolen items, help underprivileged women in the rural part of Nepal that earn their living from hand knitting crafts.The 100% woolen items come in a variety of designs, sizes and colors.

There used to be a shop in Tel Aviv which imported woolen products from Nepal, but it closed a few years ago. After all we are a warm country. Since then, however, the winters have become quite cold, and if you happen to have those Nepal woolen items, you're on 'the roof of the world'.

Need for Reconciliation

sunset (as seen at Poleg junction, Netanya)

What interests me in life is people and the workings of the human mind. Nature , with all its splendors, is but a background, not the protagonist on the stage of life. 
I won't visit a country just for its golden beaches, mighty mountains , or the blooming of the cherry trees. There has to be something more than that to attract me, something that has to do with the spirit of mankind.

And yet, during the last few decades Nature is becoming more and more of the protagonist - in a negative sense -  through all those natural disasters that we encounter: fires, floodings, earthquakes, hurricanes, lava eruptions, drought etc...These disasters have sadly increased in number and intensity.

We treat nature badly, and she reacts accordingly. We could take it a few steps further and say that we treat the universe badly; we invented  'colonialism' and 'globality' which had greatly harmed the planet and its inhabitants. God, its creator, is furious. His universe was logically built, and we, the people, in our quest for progress and change are constantly destroying it.

Perhaps we could still do something about it, and stop the abrupt deterioration, but we need great minds for that. So far, there aren't any capable of leading us towards reconciliation with God and nature.

Asking for Direction

Karlo  Vivary

Although I'm usually equipped with a street map, I prefer to ask for direction whenever I'm in a new place.People are always willing to help, and it creates a real kind of interaction with the local people.

Once, in Durban, South Africa, I wished to visit the famous indian market, so I asked someone who seemed to  to be of indian descent (there's a large indian community in this city) to direct me to my desired destination.

He said to me: "you're on the right street; it's a  long street but just keep going straight and looking down. By the quantity of litter on the pavement, you'll know when you're close to the indian market". His words about the litter made me smile and put me into a good mood.

In Bucharest, Romania, there's the museum of the Village,  and the museum of the romanian Peasant.  The first is an open air museum displaying rural homes, the other one displays traditional costumes, ceramic,wood ,and iron objects of rural Romania.

For some reason, (probably because both deal with rural aspects) I confused the two, asked the wrong question and reached the wrong place, but as a result of this confusion I got to visit both museums. My gain and pleasure.

In Karlo Vivary, the Czech republic, I almost lost the last bus back to Prague. Here I felt for the first time the meaning of language barrier. People got me in such a mess with their inaccurate  directions, that even the street map couldn't save me.The signs everywhere were in the czech language only.

For a woman alone it could be dangerous to ask for help on the street, but one has to use one's common sense and know how to avoid certain people and situations.

Mosul, Raqqah, Allepo

Memorize the above names! World War3  might emerge from the area that leads to, fro, and around these places. 

Mosul is a city in northern Iraq;  it's located on the banks of the Tigris river. It's rich in historical buildings. It has a university (closed now) and a medical college.The population is diverse ethnically and religiously, with the majority being Arabs, and the dominant religion - suuni Islam.

Raqqah is a city in Syria; it is situated on the northeast bank of the Euphrates river not far from the largest syrian dam Al Tabqa which has enabled electricity and irrigation to rural parts of Syria. The city has many archeological remains and a museum.
Its main agricultural product is cotton.

Both places were conqured by Daesh (ISIS) in 2014 ; at present. there's a military offensive going on against the ISIS people.  The involved parties are: Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Kurdistan, Iran, USA ( in coalition with its western allies), and Russia.

It seems that Daesh with all the atrocities done by it, is only a secondary target, the main target being Syria's president, Assad. The americans want him out (as part of their "arab spring" goals), the russians want him in. Putin acts on Syria's soil upon invitation from Assad. The other forces that go after Daesh into syrian territory are sort of invasive, and this fact also adds fuel to the fire.

Aleppo (Halab in arabic) once Syria's largest city, is close to the turkish border. It has always had a strategic position as a trading center between central Asia and  middle-eastern Asia. It's currently divided between the West part (held by the syrian government) and the East part (held by the rebels who are backed by the USA and its allies in the region - Turkey and Jordan) ;  fight between the two sides has been going on  there for several years. 

I don't think Putin is interested in  a world war now as his country is in a bad economic situation, and wars cost lots and lots of money. But who knows, the sanctions imposed on Russia by the americans and their interference in Ukraine matters, have greatly offended and affected his ego and he might take the wrong decisions.

Anyway the world is quite the orphan now. May God help us!

Out of the Mouths of Babes....

"Moreshet Avot" (our Fathers' Heritage) synagogue

inside the synagogue

We've just celebrated  The High Holidays: Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) . 

I have several prayer books that belonged to my late parents. A few years ago I tried to donate the books to the synagogue in our town. My parents were faithful members of that institution ; their names were immortalized on the Remembrance Wall in the building's entrance.

The guy there was reluctant about the donation. A kid about 10-12 years old who was with him (probably his son ) said to me:
'Lady, keep these books; they'll protect you, they'll keep you and your house safe and well'.
I stood speechless. Why didn't I think about that? Such wise words coming from a young boy!

During the Holidays I read at home, out of what used to be my mother's book, and feel good, even proud about that.