Russia pilgrim complex to be built in Jordan in late 2010
ITAR-TASS, 10.04.2010
BEIRUT, April 10 (Itar-Tass) – The construction of a pilgrim center with an Orthodox church on the bank of the river Jordan will be finished by the end of 2010. As ITAR-TASS learnt at the regional mission of the joint-stock company Stroytransgaz on Friday, the complex for pilgrims is being built in the historical-cultural preserve Magtas near Amman, not far from the place where, according to the biblical legend, prophet Ioan Predtecha baptized Jesus Christ.
The symbolic stone-laying ceremony of the center was held in March 2008. The Russian delegation headed by business-manager of the Russian president Vladimir Kozhin took part in the ceremony, during which a capsule with an appeal to descendants was laid in the foundation.
King Abdullah II of Jordan, who provided a plot of land with an area of one hectare on the eastern bank of the river Jordan for the open-ended and gratuitous use, came out with an initiative of creating a Russian pilgrim center in Jordan.
A decision on the construction of the complex was adopted after Vladimir Putin visited the biblical preserve in February 2007 during his official visit to the kingdom. On coordination with the Moscow patriarchy, the administration of the Russian president charged the company Stoytransgaz with building the pilgrim complex.
