JORDAN: CHRISTIANS PAY TRIBUTE TO KING HUSSEIN

(8 Feb 1999) Arabic/Nat
Hundreds of Jordanian Christians have paid tribute to the late King Hussein.
Full attendances at Christian churches were testament to the popularity of the longest serving monarch in the Middle East.
Outside the churches, riot police and soldiers lined the fog-shrouded streets of Amman, bracing for emotional outpourings by enormous crowds as the people of the desert kingdom paid final homage to their beloved king.
As dignitaries and world leaders arrived for King Hussein's funeral, ordinary Jordanians mourned in their own way.
Although King Hussein was a Muslim, he was also loved by Christians, who make up between eight and 10 percent of the population of Jordan.
On Monday, Greek Orthodox Christians packed churches in the town of Madaba, 35 kilometres (22 miles) south of the capital, Amman.
Others piled wreaths of flowers under posters of the late King and flew black flags from door posts.
In private households, friends and relatives gathered to pray and sing in honour of their dead king.
The streets were nearly empty of traffic and shops and businesses were shuttered tight.
The country was to remain virtually shut down until Saturday, as a period of official mourning was observed.
In Amman, more than half a (M) million people - a full one-sixth of the country's population - were expected to turn out for the funeral procession.
Many began gathering at dawn along the procession route, dressed in heavy coats and huddling against gusty winds and near-freezing temperatures.
The funeral has prompted the country's largest military mobilisation since bread riots in southern Jordan in 1997.
In some places, soldiers stood shoulder-to-shoulder; in others they were only a few yards apart.
Before the funeral, crowds paraded through the streets, chanting and praying in an outpouring of grief for the charismatic ruler who had served them for 46 years.
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