Pope Francis made his first trip as pope to the Middle East Saturday.

He began his trip by calling for gobal religious tolerance and a swift end to the bloody Syrian civil war, according to NPR.

"Religious freedom is in fact a fundamental human right, and I cannot fail to express my hope that it will be upheld throughout the Middle East and the entire world," Francis said, speaking from Jordan.

On Saturday, Pope Francis' plane landed at Amman's Queen Alia International Airport where he was greeted by an honor guard, Prince Ghazi bin Mohammed, the king's chief advisor for religious and cultural affairs, and Catholic leaders. He then headed to the king's palace in a sedan with motorcycles riding alongside the vehicle.

Crowds of Jordanians waved Vatican and Jordan flags as the pope passed by. He then met with King Abdullah and Queen Rania at the palace. While there, he praised Jordan's hospitality to Syrian refugees and said Jordan's "generous welcome" warrants international support and praise.

Pope Francis will next visit a refugee camp in the West Bank Sunday and travel to Jerusalem Monday. He will visit the Western Wall in addition to Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust memorial museum.

Francis is only the fourth pope to visit Israel. The first pope to visit the Holy Land was Paul VI in 1964 and was followed by Pope John Paul II in 2000 and Pope Benedict in 2009. The BBC reported that his trip marks the 50th anniversary of the first visit by Pope Paul VI 50 years ago.

While the trip to Israel and the rest of the Middle East will be mostly religion-focused, Francis will inevitably speak about the tense politics in the region.

Francis's upcoming visit to the West Bank, instead of Tel Aviv, is being considered a "nod by the Vatican" to the "Palestinian state."

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