The President was met and accompanied by Prince Ghazi, the cousin of King Abdullah II of Jordan.

The Prince showed Mr Putin the spring of John the Baptist and then invited him to visit the actual site where Jesus Christ was baptised. The river now flows along a different course and the site where John the Baptist met Christ has become just a dried-up river bed.

The President then went to the River Jordan where, together with the Prince and with head of the Russian spiritual mission in Jerusalem Archimandrite Tikhon, he went down onto a specially constructed platform and washed his hands in the river’s waters.

Prince Ghazi presented Mr Putin with a book about the history of the site, a certificate of having completed the pilgrimage, and a vessel with holy water from the River Jordan.

The President then visited the Orthodox Church of St. John the Baptist, after which the Prince invited him to inspect the site on the river bank that the Jordanian authorities will give to Russia for the construction of a hotel for Russian pilgrims.

Mr Putin expressed his sincere thanks to the Prince and the Jordanian authorities for the opportunity to visit the historic site.

Refrence http://en.kremlin.ru/