Pope begins official visit to Turkey

November 28, 2006



Pope Benedict XVI is in Turkey for his first trip to a Muslim country. The leader arrived in the Turkish capital  under very tight security measures and had a brief meeting for 20 minutes with,. According to the official program of the Papal visit, Benedict XVI will also visit the mausoleum of, founder of the Turkish Republic.

Tomorrow, the Pope has scheduled to visit in order to meet with the spiritual leader of the  Church, the   in Fener, Istanbul. On the same day, during his stay in Istanbul, the Pope will visit the Church of  as well as the.

The Pope's visit to Turkey has provoked anger from the side of who demomstrated in Ankara and Istanbul two days before Benedict's arrival. In a speech to an academic audience, some months ago, the Pope quoted a Byzantine Emperor who characterised Islam as a violent religion.