Queen Elizabeth II listened to a recital of the Quran at an Ottoman-era mosque Wednesday, the second day of a state visit to Turkey.

Her shoes removed and her head covered, the queen heard a religious scholar recite verses from the holy book at the 15th-century Green Mosque.

Earlier, the British monarch watched a traditional Ottoman shadow puppet show and a fashion show. She also visited a silk market in Bursa, a city that once was an Ottoman capital.

The queen is making her first visit to Turkey in nearly 37 years to highlight the importance Britain attaches to the predominantly Muslim country that is vying for European Union membership.

On Tuesday, she praised Turkey’s role as a bridge between the West and the Muslim world.