Pope Francis on Friday became the first foreign dignitary to be received at President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's new presidential palace, one of the most controversial building projects in modern Turkey.

While the palace, dubbed Aksaray (White Palace) by the press but known officially simply as Presidential Palace, has been used in the last weeks for the occasional meeting and reception, the pope's visit marked its true unveiling to the world.

There had been calls on the pope not to visit the palace. But the Vatican made clear it had no intention of entering into a polemic and the pope would go where the hosting side invited him.