From Elvis to Arab in just two weeks

PETRA, Jordan, July 15 (Reuters) Just two weeks ago, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was imitating Elvis during a visit to the United States.

Yesterday, during a trip to the ancient Jordanian ruins at Petra, he rode a camel and donned a traditional red-and-white headdress.

''A camel isn't comfortable,'' Prime Minister Koizumi quipped, punning with the words for camel and ''it's comfortable,'' which sound the same in Japanese.

The red sandstone ruins at Petra were carved more than 2,000 years ago and served as a set for the movie ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' with Harrison Ford.

Two weeks ago, the peripatetic Mr Koizumi visited Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley, with US President George W Bush.

Mr Koizumi, who shares a birthday with Elvis, sang the opening line of an Elvis song and put on a pair of sunglasses Elvis had owned.

Koizumi was in Jordan on the last leg of a four-day West Asia tour. He leaves for Russia and the Group of Eight summit today.

REUTERS SB ND0928