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Obama Wraps Up Turkey Trip With Mosque Visit, Student Meeting

(RFE/RL) – U.S. President Barack Obama is set to wrap up his visit to Turkey, the first he has made to a majority-Muslim country since taking office.

He can bask in the generally good reviews for the way he sidestepped the potential pitfalls of such a visit, and managed to accentuate Turkey's secular, democratic traditions as well as its proud Islamic heritage.

Before he left, Obama toured some of Istanbul's famous landmarks,. accompanied by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. They visited the famed Hagia Sofia and the nearby Blue Mosque.

Earlier in the day, Obama met religious leaders, namely representatives of Islam, the Jewish faith, and various Christian churches at his hotel.

After the tourist tour, Obama met Turkish university students, where he was open to questions. He was expected to carry forward the theme of his earlier speeches, namely that the United States wants to turn a new page in its relations with Muslims.

In his address to the Turkish parliament in Ankara on April 6, Obama said these relations should be broad-based, not limited to a shared interest in fighting terrorism.

"I also want to be clear that America's relationship with the Muslim community, the Muslim world, cannot and will not just be based on our opposition to terrorism,” Obama said. “We seek broader engagement based on mutual interest and mutual respect. We will listen carefully, we will bridge misunderstandings, and we will seek common ground."

He noted his own personal contacts with Islam: he has Muslim relatives in Kenya and he grew up partly in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country.

Pleasing Both Sides

His visit to Turkey had several delicate points, which according to press commentaries, he managed to handle well, One was to get across his message to Muslims, without actually portraying Turkey as an Islamic country.