Dr Williams, who on Tuesday night was a guest of the consul-general Roger Short and his wife Victoria at their home in Istanbul, said: “I cannot easily express the shock and grief that I and my family and staff are feeling.

“Our hearts go out to the families of all who have been killed in these vicious and senseless attacks. These acts of violence achieve nothing but to hurt a whole community of all faiths and none.” Dr Williams, who was also within yards of the World Trade Centre attacks in 2001, spoke of the “generous and warm hospitality” he received from Mr Short and his wife.

“They told me of the devastation that the people of Turkey were experiencing as a result of the attacks on the synagogues last Saturday and of their admiration for the way in which the different faith communities were standing together in the face of that violence.”

He continued: “Our prayers are with all in Istanbul at this time, and especially with all whom we know personally.”

Dr Williams arrived in Istanbul on Monday and returned Wednesday in time to attend the state banquet with President Bush.

On Tuesday night he attended a special reception at the home of the consul-general along with his press secretary, the Rev Jonathan Jennings, and his ecumenical secretary, Canon Jonathan Gough.

During his time in Turkey he visited the site of the Neva Shalom synagogue, hit by a suicide bombing on Saturday, and described the sight of the synagogue as heartbreaking. “In a place where the relationship between Muslims, Jews and Christians is one of cooperation and goodwill, an attack on a synagogue is an attack on every Muslim, Jew and Christian,” he said. “I know this tragedy will draw the religious communities even closer together and they will work to ensure that the hatred that breeds violence of this kind cannot flourish.”

Dr Williams was in Istanbul to meet the Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew I, considered to be the first among equals of the world’s Orthodox patriarchs. He also met Mesrob II, the Armenian Patriach of Istanbul, and preached at the local chaplaincy of the Church of England Diocese in Europe.

This was the second occasion Dr Williams found himself close to a terrorist attack. On September 11, 2001, he was with a group of clergy and spiritual directors at a seminar on spirituality in a building used by the staff of Trinity Church, Wall Street, a couple of blocks away from the World Trade Centre, when it was attacked.

He was evacuated from the church building after the first tower collapsed and took shelter in a temporary building with a group of children as the second tower came down.

At the time he said he feared that American retaliation could lead to more suffering. He said: “It was a terrifying moment for us all, especially the children who were with us. We shared very briefly with people in Jerusalem or Baghdad or Kosovo a little of what it is to be confronted with real fear and massive violence.”

In his short meditation on the experience, Writing in the Dust, which became a bestseller, Dr Williams also condemned the war against terrorism in Afghanistan as “tainted” and described it as an “embarrassment”.

The Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe, the Right Rev Geoffrey Rowell, who accompanied Dr Williams during his visit to Istanbul, where Mr Short was a worshipping member of the Anglican congregation, also commended the hospitality shown by Mr Short and his wife at the Tuesday reception.

Bishop Rowell said: “The contrast between that prayer and hospitality, and the destruction of human life today, makes the urgency of our prayer and support all the more poignant and necessary.

“As a community of faith, we offer prayers for an end to violence, for God’s protection for all who are in danger from terrorism, for divine guidance for leaders of government to address the root causes that fuel such acts of hatred and bloodshed, and for those who perpetrate such acts to be turned from prejudice and anger to justice and peace.”

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