The "Blue" Mosque is in the same neigborhood as the Hagia Sophia. I've been there a couple of times--you have to leave your shoes in the courtyard, but someone will probably carry the pope's shoes, don't you think? You also make ablutions at the fountain before entering--similar (but not the same) to Catholics blessing themselves with holy water when entering a church-actually the priest washing his hands may be a more apt metaphor to what one does when entering a Mosque.
From
Reuters UK:
Pope Benedict, who drew fire from Muslims over his comments on Islam, is likely to make a hastily added stop at Istanbul's Blue Mosque on his trip to Turkey next week, the Vatican said on Saturday.
It would be his first visit to a mosque. His predecessor, Pope John Paul II, made the first visit by a pontiff to a mosque during a trip to Damascus in 2001.
