My first Holy Land pilgrimage

For our special presentation on Straight from the Sky, we bring you an encore show about the 4th Secret of Fatima. As I'm right now in the Holy Land to do our TV travelogue and due to the earthquake that struck Cebu and Bohol last week, I couldn't line up guests for an advance taping for the show. Hence as October is the month of the Blessed Virgin Mary, I'm replaying this show on the 4th Secret of Fatima with Fr. John Carlo Rosales with Fr. John Napulis of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate…especially that Pope Francis already consecrated the World to the Blessed Mother's Immaculate Heart.

So watch this rare replay of the 4th Secret of Fatima on SkyCable's Channel 61 at 8:30 p.m. tonight and on MyTV at 9 p.m. on M-W-F.

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Amman Jordan - We arrived in Queen Alia International Airport in Jordan which just opened only last March and beside it you can see the ruins of the old Jordan International Airport which they totally demolished in order to make way for a new one. This is the first of many articles we shall be writing while here in the Holy Land courtesy of Delmar Travel and Pilgrimage Tours entitled "Footsteps of Jesus" which starts in Amman, Jordan.

From the airport we proceeded to Mt. Nebo, the site, which we read in the Bible where Moses was granted a view of the Promised Land that he wasn't allowed to enter. Mt. Nebo is an elevated ridge some 800 meters above sea level. From the tour bus we passed to the ancient City of Madaba but since we entered from the back door of Mt. Nebo, you would not think that we were going to a very high mountain. But suddenly, we were presented with the terrific view of the Promised Land…where one can see Jericho,

In the Bible, Moses climbed Mt. Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the Lord showed him the whole land…then the Lord said, "This is the land I promised an oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, 'I will give it to your descendants' I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it." And Moses the servant of the Lord died there in Moab, as the Lord had said in Moab, in the Valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is.

It really takes your breath away…seeing the Promised Land that Moses saw 4,000 years ago. Today it is one of Jordan's most popular tourist sites. Come to think of it…if you read the Old Testament, you will notice that most of the Old Testament especially during the time of Moses happened in Jordan. After lunch we motored to a nearby curio shop to see mosaic artists make mosaic pieces…they were nice and beautiful…but expensive. If you didn't know the Jordanian Dinar is 1.5 over 1 US dollar.

After lunch we motored to the ancient city of Madaba to the Greek Orthodox Memorial Church of Moses. On the floor of this church you will see the oldest map of the world…it is a mosaic map nearly 1,400 years old which was discovered in 1976. No one knows who drew the mosaic map as it was underneath the old mosaic floor of the former Byzantine Church. When they renovated the church…it revealed the ancient map.

We stayed at the Al Fanar Palace Hotel…but their service compared to the service in our hotel industry is like black and white. Even asking for water is a chore to their waiters. But then, compared to say Dubai, it is the legendary Filipino hospitality that makes things different because of the Filipino nature of being friendly. In Jordan, I didn't see Filipinos working in their hotels. I guess it has something to do with their six million population, where everyone needs a job. But we did meet Filipina OFWs who worked in Jordan…perhaps to the landed gentry.

On Saturday morning, we motored to the historical and archaeological city of Petra (Al-Batra). It is a three-hour freeway drive from Amman, nearly 240 kilometers one way. This is located at the town of Petra or Wadi Musa (The Valley of Moses) after hours of driving along the Plains of Moab. Historians wrote that this was the capital city of the Nabateans or Nabaioth, the firstborn son of Ishmael…son of Abraham. Beside Petra is Jabal Haroun or "Aaron's Mountain…where his tomb is supposed to be located.

Aaron is the brother of Moses…and Jordan is literally littered with many dead Israelites as it is next door to Israel and only two people who left Egypt during the Exodus were able to enter the Promised Land… that's Joshua and Caleb were from the generation of Moses to enter the Promised Land. This beautiful rock formation of rose-colored sandstone has been used by Hollywood for many of its movies… like "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" It is supposed to be the second wonder of the world, a UNESCO Intangible Heritage site and one of those famous places you should visit before you die. The visit to Petra alone is worth the entire Holy Land Pilgrimage.

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