“Someday I hope that as a result of a formation of a Palestinian state, there won’t be walls and checkpoints, that people will be able to move freely in a democratic state,” he said, having seen Israel’s security barriers and checkpoints for himself. “That’s the vision, greatly inspired by my belief that there is an Almighty, and a gift of that Almighty to each man, woman and child on the face of the earth is freedom.”  Mr. Bush’s wars in the Islamic world, his use of the word “crusade” to describe an effort to curb terrorism, and his strong support for Israel have made him a reviled figure in the Islamic world, undercutting such ecumenical appeals.  In an interview with Al Arabiya television on the eve of his trip, he clearly sought to temper the view that his faith has put him in opposition to Islam. “I pray to the same God as a Muslim prays,” he declared. And when asked how the Muslim world would judge his presidency, he replied, “I would hope, at least, at the very minimum, people would say that George W. Bush respected my religion.”  When the White House announced that Mr. Bush’s senior aides would write a blog about the president’s trip to the Middle East, it was tempting to imagine breezy, behind-the-scenes accounts — not the dish, of course, but perhaps some insights from the inner circle.  Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, say, musing on the inability of women to exercise in hotel gyms in Saudi Arabia, or to drive.  Instead, there was the account by the White House counselor, Ed Gillespie, of Mr. Bush’s meeting with the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, in the West Bank. “Resolve in Ramallah,” the headline went, pretty much setting the tone for the resthttp://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/mideast/notes/, which might be expected of the man whose job is to shape Mr. Bush’s message and image.  Mr. Bush’s tour of Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust Museum, and his trip to Galilee on Friday produced the not-so-revelatory headline, “Remembrance and Faith in the Holy Land.”  That item opened with a tantalizing clause — “After a later-than-usual dinner at Prime Minister Olmert’s residence ...” — but Mr. Gillespie dished no more, even though the dinner was, the Israeli accounts said, a raucous affair. It was said that Mr. Bush buttonholed two wavering members of Mr. Olmert’s cabinet, while an Israeli lawmaker buttonholed Mr. Bush about the case of the American spy Jonathan Pollard, to Mr. Olmert’s chagrin.  The national security adviser, Stephen J. Hadley, joined the blog on Saturday, describing the president’s meetings in Kuwait with the top military commander in Iraq, Gen. David H. Petraeus. But the contents were more or less like his press briefings. “General Petraeus described continued progress on the security side but emphasized that there was still hard work to do...” and so on.  There are some disclosures, though — not necessarily illuminating the making of policy, but humanizing the people who do so.  Mr. Gillespie wrote that during a visit to the Church of the Beatitudes in Galilee, Mr. Bush did so much giggling with a couple of the nuns that “I was worried someone’s knuckles were going to get smacked with a ruler!”  Year of the Frequent Flier  Mr. Bush, in fact, has been an indifferent tourist throughout his presidency, preferring to keep his trips short and rarely making time to take in the sites. Now, as he travels more, with at least six more overseas trips planned this year, he appears to have embraced tourism at last.  He squeezed in time to visit Bethlehem last Thursday. He took five hours on Friday to visit Yad Vashem and Galilee, where Jesus is said to have lived most of his life, prompting more than one aide to remark that Mr. Bush walked in the footsteps of Jesus.  After the speech in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, he spent an afternoon and evening with the emirate’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, at a tent encampment in the desert. The prince made some barbecue and showed off his falcons, one of which fluttered nervously on Mr. Bush’s arm. “He’s never had a press conference before,” the president told reporters.  On Monday, he flew to Dubai and toured the Sheik Saeed al Maktoum House, a 19th-century building overlooking the Persian Gulf that is a museum of photographs and historic documents of the emirate.  On Tuesday, he will visit Al Janadriyah Farm, the country retreat of the Saudi Arabian king, Abdullah, where he maintains 150 Arabian stallions. That trip repays the king’s visit, when he was crown prince, to Mr. Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Tex.  A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A11 of the New York edition with the headline: In Heart of Islamic World, Bush Puts Forth His Faith. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe
Traveling from Israel to the Persian Gulf to Saudi Arabia, President Bush repeatedly cited monotheistic faith, saying it was the foundation for freedom, justice and representative government.