Jordan's Trail Of Tears
Making their way from desert camps and faraway villages, common Jordanians passed sorrowfully through the royal palace Tuesday to offer sympathy to the new King Abdullah and prayers for their late monarch.
In a separate ceremony, King Hussein's widow, the American-born Queen Noor, and other female family members held private prayers at Hussein's grave.
The half-hour visit by Noor, Hussein's fourth wife, was her first visit to the grave. Muslim custom had prohibited her presence at Monday's funeral when Hussein was laid to rest.
Noor and Abdullah's Palestinian wife, Rania, wore white head scarves as they stood over the grave, said palace sources. After the prayers, Noor wept.
At the palace, crowds began forming outside the gates before dawn. The line of simply-attired Bedouins waiting to shake King Abdullah's hand was a distinct contrast to the staggering array of presidents, prime ministers and kings who had paid their last respects to King Hussein the day before.
On Monday, hundreds of statesmen from around the world converged on Amman as Hussein was laid to rest. The funeral was an occasion for diplomacy as well as mourning -- a rare chance for rivals and sworn enemies to see each other in the flesh.
But before the burial, CBS News Correspondent Mark Phillips reports that the king left a trail of tears as he took his last journey through the streets of Amman.
"Four million people are crying today. I think for a long time he's lived inside in the heart of all the Jordanian people," said one grieving Jordanian.
During a funeral ceremony that brought together foes and friends alike, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paused at the coffin to pay his respects. Syrian President Hafez al Assad -- who was barely on speaking terms with Hussein because of his peace with Israel -- also paid his respects after a surprise show at the head of Damascus' delegation.
Even a clearly ailing Russia's president, Boris Yeltsin, came against doctor's orders.
President Clinton came with a particular sense of gratitude. King Hussein had gotten out of his hospital bed to rescue the latest Israeli-Palestinian peace deal in Wye, Md., just when talks needed a boost.
"All the differences and animosities and grievances seemed small in the face of this very large presence," President Clinton said.
With a ceremony inherited from its British colonial past, King Hussein was given a soldier's sendoff.
As the new king looked on, Jordan's princes took his white shrouded body out of its coffin and in the Islamic tradition, lowered it into his grave and buried a 46-year era in Jordanian political life as well as a king.
The king, 63, died of heart failure Sunday after a long battle with cancer and a failed bone marrow transplant.
Hussein had lingered unconscious on a respirator for two days after returning home to Jordan last week to die. The swearing-in of Abdullah, 37, came just four hours after Hussein died. The new king immediately assured the country he would try to ensure that his father's legacies lived on.
King Abdullah's first offical decree, issued late Sunday, was to name his half-brother, 19-year-old Prince Hamzeh as Crown Prince.
©1999 CBS Worldwide Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report