Pope Leo XIVstarted the second day ofhis tripto Turkey with a visit to Istanbul's Blue Mosque on Saturday.
Leo was following in the footsteps of his recent predecessors, who all made high-profile visits to the mosque in a gesture of respect to Turkey's Muslim majority.
This is the pope's first foreign trip. He will also visit Lebanon.
Leo, history's first American pope, is expected to speak in broader terms about peace in the Middle East
Blue Mosque Imam invites Leo to pray
Asgin Tunca said he had invited Leo to pray, but the pope declined.
Speaking to reporters after the visit, Tunca said he had told the pope that the mosque was "Allah's house."
"It's not my house, not your house, (it's the) house of Allah," he said. He said he told Leo: "'If you want, you can worship here,' I said. But he said, 'That's OK.'"
"He wanted to see the mosque, wanted to feel (the) atmosphere of the mosque, I think. And was very pleased," he said.
Pope visits Blue Mosque
Leo visited the iconic mosque in Istanbul, where the head of Turkey's Diyanet religious affairs directorate showed him the structure's soaring blue-tiled dome.
The Vatican said Leo would observe a "brief minute of silent prayer."
Leo was following in the footsteps of his recent predecessors, who all made high-profile visits to the mosque in a gesture of respect to Turkey's Muslim majority.