Pope expresses esteem for Turkey ahead of trip

VATICAN CITY, Nov 26 (Reuters) Pope Benedict, speaking two days before his controversial trip to Turkey, today said he wanted the visit to show his ''esteem and sincere friendship'' for the country and its people.

He asked thousands of people in St. Peter's Square to pray for the success of the trip, which has become very delicate because of his comments on Islam and his questioning of Turkey's eligibility for European Union membership.

''Starting right now, I want to send a cordial greeting to the dear Turkish people, rich in history and culture. To these people and their representatives I express feelings of esteem and sincere friendship,'' he said in his noon address.

He said he was looking forward with ''deep emotion'' to his meeting with the small Catholic community and leaders of the Orthodox Church in the predominantly Muslim country.

''I ask you all to accompany me with your prayers so that this pilgrim age will bring the fruits that God desires,'' he said to loud applause from the crowd under bright sunshine.

The Pope's trip to Turkey, which starts on Tuesday, has been made highly contentious by Muslim reaction to a controversial university lecture the Pope made last September in his native Germany.

Turkish officials, like much of the Muslim world, expressed anger after the Pope made comments in the lecture taken as indicating he believed Islam was violent and irrational.

REGRET OVER REMARKS Benedict and the Vatican have several times expressed regret over the pain his remarks caused but the Pope has stopped short of a full apology.

Before becoming Pope, Benedict annoyed Turks by speaking out against Turkey's bid to join the European Union, saying it did not belong there because of its religion and culture.

Tensions over the Pope's visit have risen in Turkey and an Islamist party as well as some nationalist groups were holding a mass protest in Istanbul today.

The Vatican said at the weekend that the Pope is likely to make a hastily added stop at Istanbul's Blue Mosque during the trip, seen as another attempt at reconciliation by Benedict.

It would be his first visit to a mosque as Pope. His predecessor, Pope John Paul II, made the first visit by a pontiff to a mosque during a trip to Damascus in 2001.

The Sultanahmet, or Blue Mosque, is the most famed in Turkey and a popular tourist attraction. It stands in a square of the same name in the historical district of Istanbul, opposite the Aya Sofya museum.

It was built early in the 17th century on the order of Sultan Ahmed I and is also near the Ottoman Topkapi Palace.

Last Wednesday, police detained 39 demonstrators who briefly occupied the Aya Sofya museum. The protesters, who had shouted anti-Pope slogans, were later released.

Reuters DKA RN1812