Land gifted to Georgia near Jordan River

Jordan transfers plot of land near place of Jesus Christ's baptism to Georgia

During the official visit of Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, the Jordanian authorities handed over to the republic a piece of land on the banks of the Jordan River, located near the place where, according to legend, Jesus Christ was baptized.

Garibashvili went on a two-day visit to Jordan to take part in the official ceremony of transferring land near the Jordan River to Georgia, Georgian media reports on May 30, referring to the press service of the Georgian government. The transfer of a plot of land with an area of 4,000 square meters to Georgia became known on January 19, the day of the Epiphany.

"Today is a historic day. A piece of land has been officially transferred to us where we will build a center of Georgian culture. It must be a day all Georgians have been dreaming about because we Georgians are returning to the Holy Land after 300 years of absence," the press service quotes Garibashvili as saying after the ceremony of transferring the land.

During the ceremony, Garibashvili opened the memorial stone with the signatures of the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II and the Prime Minister.

“I want us to start building very soon. And we will do everything to make sure that the concept is agreed on in a timely manner. Of course, we will introduce this project to the public, and then construction work will kick off," the Prime Minister said.

The head of government thanked for the transfer of land with an area of 4 thousand square meters. King Abdullah II, Prince Ghazi, the Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilus III.