Marshaling all his powers of persuasion, Pope Benedict XVI is marking his visit to Turkey with glowing words about Islam, in a bid to calm widespread Muslim anger over his quoting in September a 14th-century emperor, who held that the prophet Muhammad brought "things only evil and inhuman" to the world.

In a powerful symbolic gesture, Pope Benedict Thursday night visited Istanbul's magnificent Blue Mosque, becoming only the second pope in history to enter a Muslim place of prayer.

Hosted by the Grand Mufti of Istanbul, Imam Mustafa Cagrici, the pontiff took off his shoes at the entrance – the common Muslim practice – and held a respectful moment of silence beneath the soaring ceiling and ornately tiled walls.

In sharp contrast to recent images of Muslim anger, including burning effigies of the pope, the two leaders exchanged gifts with a "doves of peace" theme. Despite lingering doubts among Turks about Pope Benedict's sincerity, analysts say the pope's fence-mending effort is working.

"The pope's visit to Turkey and his messages to ... the Muslim world have a symbolic value; he's really reached the hearts of the people," says Nilufer Narli, a political sociologist and Islamist expert at Bahcehir University. "His message can play an important role in easing tensions. I think he knows it, now."

But many ordinary Turks aren't convinced. "I don't think he is sincere, because he changed his mind," says Neslihan Kurt, who works in a leather purse shop.

She says she was "angry like everyone else" over the papal comments in September, but concedes that "maybe by his visit, he is really trying to change, to improve things."

Pope Benedict also came bearing another, unexpected gift, which reverses his own public position taken in his prepapacy days as Cardinal Ratzinger: support for Turkey to join the European Union (EU) at a time of deepening skepticism in Europe about the Muslim state's candidacy.

Vatican support of the EU bid is especially significant now, after a recommendation by the EU on Wednesday to freeze eight areas of policy discussion, because of Turkey's refusal to recognize Cyprus, and not open Turkish ports to Cypriot ships.

Turkey instead is the only nation in the world to recognize the Turkish Cypriot ministate of northern Cyprus, where Turkish troops have been deployed since 1974 to support ethnic Turks on the divided island.

The pope's support is "important" for Turkey's EU bid, wrote the daily Milliyet newspaper. "This is a big warning for conservative politicians who think the EU is a Christian club."

Throughout his days here, the pope has chosen language that appeals to Turks' deep sense of nationalism – this "noble land" and it's "glorious past," he said, yielded a "great modern state" – and its aspiration to be seen as equal to European nations.

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