JERUSALEM—Kim Kardashian and husband Kanye West arrived in Israel on Monday after ending their weeklong visit in Armenia. The celebrity family flew to Israel to have their baby, North, baptized at the St. James Armenian Cathedral in Jerusalem’s Old City.

 

The family was greeted by a crowd of Israeli fans and paparazzi, screaming and whistling as the Kardashians climbed out of their car in front of St. James Cathedral. The Kardashians were escorted into the Cathedral, where the baptism ceremony took place in private.

“Kim Kardashian’s daughter will be baptized and become a Christian officially and a member of the Armenian Church,” Archbishop Aris Shirvanian, who led the baptism ceremony, said, somewhat surprised by all the commotion. “All I know is that she’s a famous personality. I don’t know her in person. In any case she is welcome with her family.”

 

 

Kanye makes a splash in Yerevan
A day before their departure, Kanye West staged a surprise, free concert at Yerevan’s Swan Lake, which made international headlines after the 21-time Grammy winner jumped into the pond during his show. Excited fans at the show followed his lead by jumping into the pond as well, crowding around West, after which the show was ended for technical and safety concerns.

Kanye West previously visited Yerevan’s Tumo Center for Creative Technologies on Friday where he spent the day meeting with students in the animation and music departments.

Kardashians visit ancestral home in Gyumri
Kim Kardashian, along with her sister Khloe, also made a trip to the city of Gyumri, Armenia’s second largest city, to see their ancestral home. The sisters on Saturday visited the abandoned and dilapidated ruins of a house which was once home to their grandparents, who settled in Gyumri after fleeing the massacres of the Armenian Genocide.

 

The family also visited the Seven Wounds monastery in Gyurmi, where they were greeted by a crowd of fans. Their visit caused a stir when a local bishop objected to security personnel blocking the entrance to the church.

The Kardashians’ trip to Armenia, which included a visit to the Dzidzernagapert Armenian Genocide Memorial, will be documented in their reality show, “Keeping up with the Kardashians.”