THE PRESIDENT Mary McAleese has arrived in Turkey for a five-day official trip, the first such high-level visit between the two countries.
Following her arrival in Istanbul yesterday, Mrs McAleese travelled to the Turkish capital Ankara. She is due to meet Turkey’s president Abdullah Gul and prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara today.
Mrs McAleese will also participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at Anit Kabir, the tomb of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder and first president of the republic of Turkey.
Tomorrow morning, the President will travel to the Gallipoli peninsula, where she will lay wreaths at several memorials. She is also due to attend a commemorative event at Green Hill cemetery during which she will unveil a memorial plaque dedicated to the Irish soldiers who lost their lives during the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign in 1915.
Mrs McAleese will then return to Istanbul, which has been designated European Capital of Culture 2010, where she will visit sites including Aghia Sofia, the Topkapi Palace and the Blue Mosque.
During her trip, she will focus on bilateral links between Turkey and Ireland. Trade and investment between the two countries amounts to some €400 million in each direction. About 10,000 properties in Turkey are owned by Irish citizens, making Ireland the fifth biggest foreign investor in property in the country.
More than 100,000 Irish people visit Turkey for business and tourism each year.