Amman: Pope Benedict Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Jordan Friday on his first visit as pontiff to an Arab state.

King Abdullah II and his wife Queen Rania were waiting to give a red carpet welcome to the pontiff at Amman's Queen Alia airport.

Security was tightened as hundreds of Christians, many sporting T-shirts bearing the portraits of the king and the pope, gathered at the airport to see the pope.

The pope is scheduled to travel later to the Regina Pacis centre for the handicapped in Amman.

Benedict, who has said he is going as a "pilgrim of peace", is to divide his visit between Jordan and Israel, with a stop in Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank, on Wednesday.

Later on Friday, Benedict will meet the king and queen at their royal palace in Huseinyeh west of the capital.

On Saturday, he will make a stop in Mount Nebo, where the Bible says God showed the Promised Land to Moses.

On Sunday he will celebrate mass at the Amman International Stadium, where he will bless around 2,000 Jordanian children.

The pontiff concludes his visit to the kingdom with a prayer at Wadi Kharrar on the east bank of the River Jordan, where many Christians believe Jesus was baptised, before leaving for Tel Aviv on Monday morning.