U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi toured Jerusalem Saturday together with America’s first Muslim congressman, Rep. Keith Ellison (D).



The Democratic Speaker arrived Friday on a fact-finding mission.



Pelosi and Ellison, together with staffers, toured the Church of the Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City, followed by a stop at the Western Wall prayer plaza at the foot of the Temple Mount.



For security reasons, the tour was not announced ahead of time. Ellison says he plans on visiting the mosque atop the Temple Mount. "I haven't seen it yet, but I hope to, I'm really looking forward to it," Ellison told CBS News.

Speaker Pelosi is set to address the Knesset on Sunday and will also be meeting with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah in the coming days.



Pelosi’s delegation, which includes U.S. Representatives Henry Waxman and Tom Lantos (D-California), Louise Slaughter (D-New York), Nick Rahall (D-West Virginia), and David Hobson (R–Ohio), will also be visiting Syria, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.



There has been some controversy back in the U.S. over the visit to Syria "This is a country that is a state sponsor of terror, one that is trying to disrupt the Seniora government in Lebanon and one that is allowing foreign fighters to flow into Iraq from its borders," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said of the trip. "[Pelosi] should take a step back and think about the message that it sends."

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is visiting in Israel today, following visits by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and US Secretary of State Condolleeza Rice.  Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni will host Merkel on a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum.