Kim Kardashian, Kanye West in Jerusalem to baptise daughter
AFP
April 14, 2015 17:05 MYT
April 14, 2015 17:05 MYT
Kim Kardashian carries her daughter North West as she and her husband Kanye West (back) exit a car upon their arrival at the Armenian St. James Cathedral in Jerusalem's Old City on April 13. - AFP Photo/Ahmad Gharabli
US reality TV star Kim Kardashian and her rapper husband Kanye West were in Jerusalem's Old City Monday for the baptism of their daughter at the Armenian Cathedral.
The couple flew in from a tour of Armenia, landing at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport before driving straight to the Holy City for the ceremony.
As the convoy pulled up to St James Cathedral in a narrow street of the Armenian Quarter, hundreds of fans thronged the car, screaming and wolf-whistling as Kardashian climbed out holding her 21-month-old daughter, North.
"It's a baptism that will take place," Archbishop Aris Shirvanian told reporters gathered at the entrance to the church.
"Kim Kardashian's daughter will be baptised and she will become a Christian officially and a member of the Armenian church."
The diminutive star, known for her curves, was modestly attired in a floor-length gold pleated dress, with long sleeves and plunging cross-over neckline, while her daughter wore a long white dress, her feet bare despite unseasonably chilly weather.
West was dressed all in white.
The couple disappeared into the church for the ceremony, and left after 90 minutes, an AFP correspondent said.
They were later expected to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Christian Quarter, with US security guards seen combing the sprawling basilica built on the site where Christians believe Jesus was crucified and rose again.
They were also expected to visit the Western Wall, the holiest site at which Jews can pray which is in the Jewish Quarter.
The Los Angeles-based celebrity's Armenian roots are on her father's side, with the family emigrating to the US from an area that now lies inside Turkey.
Her eight-day trip to Armenia coincided with memorial ceremonies to mark the centenary of the massacres of as many as 1.5 million Armenians in the last days of the Ottoman Empire.
Many historians describe the World War I slaughter as the 20th century's first genocide, but Turkey hotly denies the accusations.
Pope Francis used the word "genocide" at a special mass at the Vatican on Sunday to mark the centenary, sparking fury from Turkey.