An Israeli president is in Turkey for the first time since 2007, as Erdogan and Herzog seek to repair ruptured relations

Israel President Isaac Herzog on Thursday ended his landmark trip to Turkey, in the first visit by an Israeli president since 2007.

Herzog held talks in Ankara on Wednesday with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan a day after the two countries hailed a new era in relations.

He then took part in a prayer for Ukrainian refugees as well as "Turkey and President Erdogan" with members of the Jewish community in Istanbul at the Neve Shalom synagogue in the historic Galata district.

"We will not agree on everything... But we shall aspire to solve our disagreements with mutual respect and goodwill," Herzog said during a press conference with Erdogan on Wednesday.

Turkey and Israel were once close allies, but the relationship frayed under Erdogan, who is an outspoken critic of Israel’s treatment toward the Palestinians, which Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have said amounts to the crime of apartheid. 

Turkey broke relations with Israel after the fatal attack by Israeli commandos on a peace flotilla in international waters in 2010, killing ten unarmed activists.

The Neve Shalom synagogue, which is also home to a museum about Jewish heritage, holds a special place for local Jews.

It was subject to terror attacks in 1986 which left 22 dead, and another in 1992.

On 15 November 2003, 30 were killed and over 300 others were injured after vehicles filled with explosives targeted two synagogues in Istanbul. The attacks were claimed by a Turkish cell of Al-Qaeda.