By Saddam al-Yahiya
AMMAN
Pope Francis on Saturday arrived in Jordanian capital Amman at the start of an official one-day visit to the Hashemite kingdom.
The Pope was welcomed at Queen Alia International Airport by Prince Ghazi bin Mohamed, the chief adviser to King Abdullah II of Jordan for religious and cultural affairs.
The pontiff's visit is part of a regional tour that will also take Pope Francis to the Palestinian territories and Israel.
The Pope's delegation includes a Muslim imam and a Jewish rabbi in a move seen as assertion of religious tolerance and inter-faith dialogue.
Pope Francis is expected to celebrate Mass in a stadium in Amman before later meeting with a host of Syrian refugees in Jordan.
On Sunday, Pope Francis will head to the Palestinian city of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank aboard a Jordanian helicopter.
www.aa.com.tr/en