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| Pope begins Turkish mosque visit | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Pope Benedict XVI is visiting 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 is only the second papal visit in history to a Muslim place of worship. | |
| His plans to visit the Hagia Sophia Museum, a site heavy with Christian and Muslim symbolism, brought dozens of protesters onto the streets. | |
| 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. |
| Dozens of people linked to an Islamist-nationalist party demonstrated against the Pope's plans to visit the domed complex that was once a Christian centre before becoming a mosque and eventually, a museum. | Dozens of people linked to an Islamist-nationalist party demonstrated against the Pope's plans to visit the domed complex that was once a Christian centre before becoming a mosque and eventually, a museum. |
| They claimed the Pope's visit was an affront to the secularism enshrined in Turkey's constitution, as well as an attempt to stake a Catholic claim to the Hagia Sophia site. | They claimed the Pope's visit was an affront to the secularism enshrined in Turkey's constitution, as well as an attempt to stake a Catholic claim to the Hagia Sophia site. |
| They have said any hint of a prayer there would be deeply offensive. | They have said any hint of a prayer there would be deeply offensive. |
| Prayer watch | Prayer watch |
| The third day of the Pope's trip to Turkey began with a mass celebrated by the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I. | The third day of the Pope's trip to Turkey began with a mass celebrated by the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I. |
| A prime reason for Pope Benedict's visit to Turkey has been to heal the centuries-old rift between the two Churches. | A prime reason for Pope Benedict's 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 divisions which exist among Christians are a scandal to the world," the Pope said after the meeting. | "The divisions which exist among Christians are a scandal to the world," the Pope said after the meeting. |
| 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. |
| HAVE YOUR SAY This visit is an opportunity to show that a Muslim country can be secular, free and democratic Onur, Istanbul Send us your comments Read our online debate | HAVE YOUR SAY This visit is an opportunity to show that a Muslim country can be secular, free and democratic Onur, Istanbul Send us your comments Read our online debate |
| The tour of the Blue Mosque - across the square from Hagia 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 Hagia 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 |