travel news - Queen Praises Turkey's Bridging Role

Queen praises Turkey's bridging role

May 14 2008

The Queen has joined early summer holidaymakers in Turkey for her first visit to the country in more than 35 years.

Her Majesty has been in the county's capital Ankara meeting president Abdullah Gul and praised the nation's role as a bridge between the west and the Islamic world.

Turkey is a predominantly Muslim country situated on the edge of Europe and the Middle East.

Wearing a tiara and dressed in a white gown decorated with beads, the Queen said Turkey is "playing a key role in promoting peace, political stability and economic development in some of the world's most unsettled areas".

Today (May 14th), Queen Elizabeth and husband Prince Phillip will visit historic sites in Bursa - the second capital of the Ottoman Empire - before flying to Istanbul the next day where they will visit a school and the city's Museum of Modern Art.

The royal visit ends on May 16th.


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