Pope Leo XIV started his third day in Turkey on Saturday with a visit to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul. The visit was a gesture of respect towards the Islamic world, fraternity with Muslims, and continuity in building bridges of interreligious dialogue, though the pope declined an invitation to pray in the Muslim house of worship.
The so-called “Blue Mosque” stands as one of the most important Islamic buildings in Istanbul. Its beauty, its scale, and its history continue to attract visitors from all over the world. It also holds a unique place in the relationship between Christianity and Islam, as several popes have passed through its doors in silence and respect.
Benedict XVI visited the mosque in 2006 during his visit to the country. The visit came less than three months after an address he made in Regensburg, Germany, in which he quoted a medieval emperor’s description of Islam as “evil and inhuman” and “spread by the sword,” provoking a fierce reaction in the Muslim world. The Vatican’s spokesman at that time, Fr. Federico Lombardi, said that Benedict paused for meditation inside the Mosque. Pope Francis entered the mosque in 2014 and stood in what the Vatican described as a “moment of silent adoration” of God inside the Muslim place of worship.
After Leo’s visit on Saturday, the Holy See Press Office said in a statement that “the pope experienced the visit to the mosque in silence, in a spirit of reflection and attentive listening, with deep respect for the place and for the faith of those who gather there in prayer.”
One of the pope’s hosts for the visit, muezzin Aşgın Musa Tunca, told reporters afterwards that he had told the pope he was welcome “to worship here,” but that Leo had replied: “No, I am just going to look around.”
A notable omission from Leo’s itinerary, and a point of tension in Catholic-Islamic relations, is Hagia Sophia, the Byzantine church-turned-mosque that the Turkish government designated a museum open to all faiths in the 20th century. Popes Paul VI, John Paul II Benedict XVI and Francis all visited the monument on previous papal visits to Turkey. Francis said he was “deeply pained” when the government turned it back into a mosque in 2020.
Asked on Thursday why Leo would not be visiting Hagia Sophia, Bruni said: “It simply was not put on the program”.
The “Blue Mosque” which Leo visited on Saturday was built between 1609 and 1617 by Sultan Ahmed I. It occupies part of the site where the Grand Palace of Constantinople once stood. The goal was to make it the most important place of worship in the Ottoman Empire.
The construction process was carefully organized. The name “Blue Mosque” comes from around 21 thousand turquoise ceramic tiles placed along the walls and the main dome. Walls, arches, and columns carry the famous Iznik tiles in tones from blue to green. Light entering through 260 small windows also gives the prayer hall a remarkable atmosphere.
The Sultan Ahmed Mosque is the only mosque with six minarets. Most mosques have four. Only the one of the Ka’ba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, exceeds it, with seven.
This article was originally published on CNA.
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