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| Pope set to visit Turkish mosque | Pope set to visit Turkish mosque |
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| Pope Benedict XVI is due to visit one of Turkey's most famous mosques in what is being seen as an attempt to mend relations with the Muslim community. | Pope Benedict XVI is due to visit one of Turkey's most famous mosques in what is being seen as an attempt to mend relations with the Muslim community. |
| His tour of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul will be only the second papal visit in history to a Muslim place of worship. | His tour of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul will be only the second papal visit in history to a Muslim place of worship. |
| But his prior visit to nearby Haghia Sophia museum is expected to be even more closely watched - a site heavy with Christian and Muslim symbolism. | But his prior visit to nearby Haghia Sophia museum is expected to be even more closely watched - a site heavy with Christian and Muslim symbolism. |
| The Pope's trip has been overshadowed by his recent comments about Islam. | The Pope's trip has been overshadowed by his recent comments about Islam. |
| Prayer watch | Prayer watch |
| The third day of his trip to Turkey began with a mass celebrated by the spiritual head of the Orthodox Church, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I. | The third day of his trip to Turkey began with a mass celebrated by the spiritual head of the Orthodox Church, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I. |
| A prime reason for his visit to Turkey has been to heal the centuries-old rift between the two Churches. | A prime reason for his visit to Turkey has been to heal the centuries-old rift between the two Churches. |
| See a map of where Orthodox and Catholic Europe meet | See a map of where Orthodox and Catholic Europe meet |
| The BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Istanbul says this day's activities are heavy with symbolism. | The BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Istanbul says this day's activities are heavy with symbolism. |
| Nationalist and Islamist groups will be closely watching the Pope's tour of Haghia Sophia - once one of the most sacred sites in Christendom, then converted to an Ottoman mosque and now a museum in a strictly secular state. | Nationalist and Islamist groups will be closely watching the Pope's tour of Haghia Sophia - once one of the most sacred sites in Christendom, then converted to an Ottoman mosque and now a museum in a strictly secular state. |
| HAVE YOUR SAY This visit is an opportunity to show that a Muslim country can be secular, free and democratic Onur, Istanbul href="http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?threadID=4818&edition=1&ttl=20061128091957" class="">Send us your comments href="/1/hi/talking_point/6189398.stm" class="">Read our online debate They say any hint of a prayer there would be deeply offensive. | |
| The tour of the Blue Mosque - across the square from Haghia Sophia - was a last-minute addition to the schedule and is seen as a major gesture of goodwill to Muslims. | The tour of the Blue Mosque - across the square from Haghia Sophia - was a last-minute addition to the schedule and is seen as a major gesture of goodwill to Muslims. |
| It is part of efforts by Pope Benedict to mend the damage his comments on Islam in September caused across the Muslim world. | It is part of efforts by Pope Benedict to mend the damage his comments on Islam in September caused across the Muslim world. |
| Speaking to an academic audience in Germany, the Pope quoted a Byzantine emperor who characterised Islam as a violent religion. | Speaking to an academic audience in Germany, the Pope quoted a Byzantine emperor who characterised Islam as a violent religion. |
| While the Pope insisted the remarks did not reflect his own views, the speech was widely reported and caused anger across the Islamic world. | While the Pope insisted the remarks did not reflect his own views, the speech was widely reported and caused anger across the Islamic world. |
| WHERE EAST MEETS WEST Kosovo is an overwhelmingly Muslim province of Serbia, pushing for independenceIn Lviv and other western parts of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church predominates - a church that follows Eastern rites but vows allegiance to RomeRepublika Srpska is the Serb part of BosniaCyprus is divided between the Greek, Orthodox south and the breakaway Turkish, Muslim north | WHERE EAST MEETS WEST Kosovo is an overwhelmingly Muslim province of Serbia, pushing for independenceIn Lviv and other western parts of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church predominates - a church that follows Eastern rites but vows allegiance to RomeRepublika Srpska is the Serb part of BosniaCyprus is divided between the Greek, Orthodox south and the breakaway Turkish, Muslim north |
| Click here to return | Click here to return |