Pope Visits Turkey

Pope Benedict XVI waves to the photographers at Ataturk's Mausoleum in Ankara, Tuesday Nov. 28, 2006. The Pope began his trip to Turkey with a message of dialogue and "brotherhood" between Christians and Muslims in an attempt to ease anger over his perceived criticism of Islam.

Pope Benedict XVI, with a portrait of modern Turkey's founder Ataturk in the background, shakes hands with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, at the Esenboga Airport in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2006. The Pope arrived in Turkey on his first visit to a Muslim country, where he will seek to ease anger over his perceived criticism of Islam and mend a split with the world's Orthodox Christians.

A policeman looks through binoculars to secure the area prior to Pope Benedict XVI's arrival at Ankara's airport, Turkey, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2006. Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Turkey on his first visit to a Muslim country, where he will seek to ease anger over his perceived criticism of Islam and mend a split with the world's Orthodox Christians.

A police dog checks camera gear prior Pope Benedict XVI's arrival at Ankara's airport, Turkey, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2006. Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Turkey on his first visit to a Muslim country, where he will seek to ease anger over his perceived criticism of Islam and mend a split with the world's Orthodox Christians.

Pope Benedict XVI visits the mausoleum of the founder of the secular Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, in Ankara, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2006. The pontiff hoped to convey a message of dialogue and brotherhood between Christians and Muslims in an attempt to ease anger over his perceived criticism of Islam.

Pope Benedict XVI walks up the stairs at Ataturk's Mausoleum in Ankara, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2006. The Pope began his trip to Turkey with a message of dialogue and "brotherhood" between Christians and Muslims in an attempt to ease anger over his perceived criticism of Islam.

Pope Benedict XVI visits the mausoleum of the founder of the secular Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, in Ankara, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2006. The pontiff expressed "confidence and hope" for his challenging four-day visit to Turkey, where his remarks in September linking Islam and violence still rankle.

A worker puts the finishing touches on a fence in front of Virgin Mary's House at Ephesus near Selcuk, Turkey, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2006 a day before Pope Benedict XVI will pray there and celebrate a mass on Wednesday. It is believed that this house is the last residence of the Virgin Mary. The Pope is on a four-day trip to Turkey.

Pope Benedict XVI is framed by Turkish honor guards upon his departure from the Esenboga Airport in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2006. The pope flew to Ephesus, where the Virgin Mary is thought to have spent her last years, to hold a Mass at the site, one of the holiest Christian places in Turkey. Benedict became the third pope to make the pilgrimage. Paul VI visited in 1967, and John Paul II came in 1979.

Nuns cheer as Pope Benedict XVI arrives in Ephesus for a Mass at the Virgin Mary House near the western Turkish town of Selcuk, Turkey, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2006. The pope held a Mass at one of the holiest Christian places in Turkey, the ruins of a house where the Virgin Mary is thought to have spent her last years, as part of his efforts to reach out to the Roman Catholic minority in a mostly Muslim country.

Pope Benedict XVI celebrates a mass at the House of the Virgin Mary near Ephesus Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2006. The pope, celebrating his first mass on Muslim soil, made a fresh appeal for peace in the Middle East.

Pope Benedict XVI and Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I, leave from the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. George at the Orthodox Patriarchate in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2006. The pope's visit to Turkey was born out of his desire to meet Bartholomew, who has his headquarters in Istanbul, once ancient Constantinople. The pontiff has been trying to foster better relations between Orthodox and Catholics.

Pope Benedict XVI attends an Orthodox Patriarchal Divine Liturgy with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I at St. George church in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2006.

Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I, right, and Pope Benedict XVI kiss each other during the Divine Liturgy in Honor of the Feast of St. Andrew the Apostle celebrated by Patriarch Bartholomew I, in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday Nov. 30, 2006.

A Christian Orthodox man looks on during the Divine Liturgy in Honor of the Feast of St. Andrew the Apostle celebrated by Patriarch Bartholomew I and attended by Pope Benedict XVI in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2006.

Pope Benedict XVI, bottom, seen during the Divine Liturgy in Honor of the Feast of St. Andrew the Apostle celebrated by Patriarch Bartholomew I in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2006.

Turkish plainclothes policemen subdue demonstrators in Istanbul, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2006, on the day Pope Benedict XVI visited the Haghia Sophia museum and the Blue Mosque. The demonstrators were protesting for better economic conditions.

Pope Benedict XVI, second from right, and Istanbul's Mufti Mustafa Cagrici, right, pause during their visit inside the Blue Mosque in Istanbul Thursday, Nov. 30, 2006. Pope Benedict XVI prayed alongside the Islamic cleric in Turkey's most famous mosque in a dramatic gesture to Muslims after outrage from the pontiff's remarks linking violence and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad.

Pope Benedict XVI frees a dove upon his arrival at Istanbul's Holy Spirit Cathedral during the last day of his during his four-day visit to Turkey, Friday, Dec. 1, 2006. At right is Mustafa Sarigul, mayor of Istanbul's Sisli district.

Pope Benedict XVI greets the press prior to his departure from Istanbul airport, Turkey, Friday Dec. 1, 2006, ending a four-day official visit to Turkey marked by a message of dialogue and "brotherhood" between Christians and Muslims in an attempt to ease anger over his perceived criticism of Islam.