The News Minute | November 28, 2014 | 3:25 pm IST

Pope Francis is scheduled to arrive in Turkey to help inter-faith dialogue in the country.

At the start of the three-day tour he is set to meet newly-elected President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, BBC reported Friday.

He also plans to visit Istanbul for a meeting with the head of the Orthodox Christian church.

It will be only the fourth time in history that a pope will visit Turkey.

During his trip, Pope Francis is scheduled to visit Istanbul's Sultan Ahmed mosque, the 17th century place of worship popularly known as the Blue Mosque.

He is also due to sign a joint declaration with Patriarch Bartholomew I, the leader of 300 million Orthodox Christians, on trying to bridge the divides between Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity.

IANS