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Pope to Visit Turkey, Despite Large Protests

Pope Benedict arrives in Istanbul on Tuesday to meet with the Istanbul-based head of the world's 250 million Orthodox Christians, along with Turkey's prime minister.

But tensions are high in the predominately Muslim country, after the pope quoted a Byzantine emperor who characterized some of the teachings of Islam's Prophet Muhammad as "evil and inhuman."

Security will be tight for the papal visit. Over the weekend, a crowd of 25,000 turned out in Istanbul, urging the pope to stay home. There were smaller protests Monday.

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Pope Benedict's trip was originally planned as part of an effort to mend a thousand-year-old rift between Catholics and Orthodox Christians.

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