Pope Francis, the first pontiff to set foot on the peninsula where Islam was born, met United Arab Emirates leaders in Abu Dhabi on Monday in a historic trip he hopes will foster peace through religious dialogue.
Arriving at the sprawling presidential palace with its many domes of gold and glass, Francis was greeted with a flyover by UAE air force jets spewing out plumes of smoke in yellow and white - the colors of the Vatican flag.
Francis was due to deliver his only public address of the day later at an inter-religious meeting following a visit to Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, one of the largest in the Islamic world.
REUTERS