Closer to Heaven

11/12/2015

Jordan Playlist:
Jordan is such a spiritual place, a few of the songs on my list are gospel songs because when we visited the place where John the Baptist baptized Jesus it was quite a moment for me. My faith is important to me so it was quite amazing to be at this place. Other songs on this list such as some of the movie scores were inspired because the films were either about this location or they had filmed part of the movie here, i.e. Petra in Indiana Jones. Bob Marley made the list because many people, and not just in Jordan but Egypt and Morocco also seem to love him and in particular the song I chose. If you've ever seen Wadi Rum, you understand why we chose David Bowie's 'Life On Mars', it resembles the Red planet, which is probably why Matt Damon's 'The Martian' used it for their Mars location. (Desi will be mad if I don't give her credit for the inclusion of this song, lol.)

1. Lawrence of Arabia score - Maurice Jarre https://youtu.be/jdFwhhH2x7I
2. No Woman No Cry - Bob Marley https://youtu.be/x59kS2AOrGM
3. Bas Bas - Toni Qattan https://youtu.be/1SmzcFtCBSM
4. Take Me To The King - Tamela Mann https://youtu.be/wU3qgPn3bGA
5. Waking Light - Beck https://youtu.be/ixtNYSiNyO4
6. Alabaster Box - CeCe Winans https://youtu.be/4Ls8ZfeBmHA (Lillie McCloud, a contestant on the X Factor also sung a killer version of this song)
7. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade theme - John Williams https://youtu.be/8LtWN94DxrA
8. Jesus Christ Superstar - Carl Anderson (from Jesus Christ Superstar film soundtrack) https://youtu.be/IvVr2uks0C8 (many people are a fan of the play, but I fell in love with Milos Forman's film version first and especially the voices of Carl Anderson, who played Judas in the film and Ted Neeley, who played Jesus. Listen to Ted sing the song 'Gethsemane' and you'll know what I'm talking about.)
9. Life on Mars - David Bowie https://youtu.be/v--IqqusnNQ
10. Selah - Lauryn Hill https://youtu.be/9LBAbWdBWtA
11. Closer to Heaven - The Alan Parsons Project https://youtu.be/VDcmhsyjU3s

One of the first places we visited in Jordan was Mount Nebo. It is said to be the site of the place where Jesus granted Moses a view of the Promised Land. The remains of a monastery and a Byzantine church were discovered at the location in 1933. In that excavation many mosaics were also found. Our guide was a sweet little old man named Ali, who was very knowledgable. The Brazen Serpent Statue was created by Italian artist Giovanni Fantoni, it represents the bronze serpent that Moses created and the cross that Jesus was crucified on. You might recognize it also as closely resembling the widely known medical symbol of the serpent coiled down the length of a staff.

After our tour concluded here we headed to Bethany Beyond the Jordan, the baptism site of Jesus. It was quite a moving experience to be at the spot where John the Baptist baptized Jesus, to know that we were walking where he once walked was incredible. After standing at that spot for a while in quiet reflection we made our way to another spot where many people enter an area of the Jordan River. I knew that Israel wasn't that far away, but once we came to this section of the Jordan River, across the 10-20 feet width was Israel. We watched many people on that side wade into the water in white gowns and immerse themselves in the water. At one point, a nun led several women clad in the white gowns to the water's edge and they began to sing. I was nearly in tears as I listened to them and then watched them walk into the water and submerge themselves hoping to be washed clean of whatever sins plagued them or whatever forgiveness they were seeking. It was quite amazing to be a witness to that.

The spiritual journey left us a bit famished as we headed to the Dead Sea, where we had intended to soak, but we opted for lunch first. The view at the Oh Beach Resort was breathtaking. I could have sat outside on the terrace of that restaurant and just looked out at the water for hours. It was calm, peaceful and quiet because we were the only ones there. I take that back. We did have company, in the form of a cat. Many of the previous countries we'd visited so far had stray cats that roamed around and Jordan was no exception. They always seem to like me over Desi, which is unfortunate because I'm allergic to them. Today was no exception. As we sat waiting for our meal to arrive he seemed harmless enough, but the minute food was bought to the table he began to meow and circle the table hoping for scraps or so I thought. This cat was quite clever. He played his game for a while, but I guess he figured I was the weak link because before long, he found his opening and leapt onto the table, grabbed some chicken off my plate and then made his escape. It happened so quickly, I could only sit there stunned, with my mouth hanging open waiting for something to fly in. Desi couldn't stop laughing at what happened or my reaction to it. Sorry, no pictures exist of this outrageous, comical moment.