I don't know where in the middle east you lived or if you miscalculated how hot 120F is (it's almost 50c). I'm sure it gets that hot in the middle of the desert

I don't know where in the middle east you lived or if you miscalculated how hot 120F is (it's almost 50c). I'm sure it gets that hot in the middle of the desert but most people in the middle east don't live in the middle of the desert. I grew up in Israel and 40c (104F) was an unusually hot summer day (you'd get a few days like that per summer, maybe more now due to climate change). More common summer highs were around 30-35c. EDIT: I underestimated how much hotter the Arabian Peninsula is compared to the Levant - a quick look via google maps puts Doha at 39c right now (at 9am!), while Jerusalem, Damascus & Cairo are at 22c, 24c and 27c respectively!