Praise and Fears As Pope Ends Turkish Visit

Pope Benedict flew out of Turkey yesterday having convinced many - but by no means all - of his hosts of his desire for warm relations with the Muslim world.

Ending his first trip as Pope to a predominantly Muslim nation, Benedict made a last attempt to assuage fears of a pan-Christian conspiracy against Islam, saying the Vatican sought to "impose nothing on anyone".

His unprecedented gesture on Thursday, when he prayed in the Blue Mosque, elicited widespread praise. His guide, the grand mufti of Istanbul, Mustafa Cagrici, noted that the Pope had stood and faced Mecca as he did so, as a good Muslim would. "These were very nice gestures," he told a television interviewer.

The nationalist daily Milliyet carried a picture of the two men praying together under the headline The Peace of Istanbul. But some commentators were dismayed by part of a declaration signed by the Pope and Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christianity. It said: "In Europe, while remaining open to other religions and to their cultural contributions, we must unite our efforts to preserve Christian roots, traditions and values."

The Turkish Daily News headlined its report of the declaration: Pope Dashes Turks' Hopes for EU Support. On his arrival on Tuesday the pope had been quoted by the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as having backed Turkey's EU application. But the paper said his comments were "apparently exaggerated".

The Pope's journey through Turkey has been dominated by his efforts to repair the damage wrought three months ago when, in a lecture in Germany, he used a quotation in which Islam was condemned as evil and inhumane.