Pope Leo XIV visited Turkey's iconic Blue Mosque in Istanbul on Saturday, but did not stop to pray, as his predecessors had done when visiting the mosque.

The first US pope stopped in Turkey for the first leg of his inaugural trip abroad as pope. The trip is also due to take him to Lebanon.

Why was Pope Leo's visit to the Blue Mosque unusual?

Breaking away from a tradition set by previous popes, Leo did not seem to pray when he visited Turkey's famed mosque, also known as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque.

The pontiff took his shoes off, a prerequisite for entering a mosque as per Islamic rules, and toured the 17th century mosque alongside its imam.

The imam, Asgin Tunca, said he had invited Leo to pray, since the mosque was "Allah's house," but the pope declined, saying he just preferred to visit the mosque.

"He wanted to see the mosque, wanted to feel [the] atmosphere of the mosque, I think. And was very pleased," imam Tunca said.

The pontiff's decision seemed to have taken even the Vatican by surprise, as it had said Leo would observe a "brief moment of silent prayer" in the mosque.

The Vatican released a press statement after the visit saying the prayer had occurred, only to later say the release had been sent in error, the Reuters news agency reported.

Instead, the statement on the pope's visit to the Blue Mosque read: "The Pope visited the Mosque in silence, in a spirit of contemplation and listening, with deep respect for the place and the faith of those who gather there in prayer."

Both Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis observed a moment of silent prayer, facing the east, when they visited the Blue Mosque in 2006 and 2014, respectively.

What else was on Pope Leo's agenda?

Apart from the Blue Mosque, Pope Leo also visited the patriarchal church of Saint George, where he prayed with Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians.

He then led a Catholic Mass in Istanbul's Volkswagen Arena.

The pope is due to travel to Lebanon on Sunday, but not without hiccups, as his Airbus charter was among others affected by a worldwide Airbus software update. The last-minute update has disrupted hundreds of flights in Europe and Asia.

Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko