JEANNE MESERVE, CNN ANCHOR: In the Mideast, the pope is making an historic pilgrimage to the Holy Land. John Paul II is in Jordan today, where he began his visit with a trip to Mount Nebo, the site where Moses is said to have seen the promised land. CNN's Jerrold Kessel reports.</s>JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Amid the throng, Pope John Paul II managed a short period of personal prayer in the striking hillside monastery, which was the first stop on the pontiff's seven-day Holy Land pilgrimage. Vatican officials had been calling it above all a personal pilgrimage, not a political mission. But the pope himself welcomed to what Jordan's King Abdullah called the crossroads of history and geography pointedly spoke of the evolving peace in the Holy Land and the need to further promote that peace.</s>POPE JOHN PAUL II: Without peace there can be no alternative developments for this region; no better life for its people; no brighter future for its children. That is why Jordan's fluent (ph) commissions to securing the condition necessary for peace is so important and praiseworthy.</s>KESSEL: The pope spoke warmly of efforts to bring Christians and Muslims together in Jordan, a country where Christians are a tiny minority. But after this special mass, people of both religions turned out in large numbers in the next town of Motherba (ph) to greet the first pontiff to visit the area in three and a half decades. Security has been tight, but not obtrusive, diverting slightly from the planned itinerary John Paul also took a short ride in his Popemobile around the spectacular hillside monastery. (on camera): This may be the easiest part of the personal pilgrimage. Once the pope travels across the Jordan River to Israel and the Palestinian territories his diplomatic skills in handling a maze of political and religious challenges will be tested as much as his stamina. Jerrold Kessel, CNN, Mount Nebo, Jordan. Search CNN.com CNNSI.com CNNmoney.com The Web
Pope Makes Historic Visit to Holy Land