Prince Charles and wife Camilla arrive in Turkey

The Associated Press
Sunday, November 25, 2007


ANKARA, Turkey: Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, arrived in Turkey on Sunday for a four-day trip that includes a tour of the mausoleum of one of Islam's greatest poets.

The royal couple were to travel to the central Turkish city of Konya on Monday to visit the mausoleum of the poet and mystic philosopher Mavlana Jalal al-Din al-Rumi.

Later, the heir to the British throne and his wife will travel to Catalhoyuk, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Konya, to visit the 9,000-year-old Neolithic settlement that is being excavated by a British-led archaeological team.

On Tuesday, they will visit a rehabilitation center in Ankara and dine with President Abdullah Gul at the presidential palace before traveling to the cities of Istanbul and Izmir.

Prince Charles last visited Turkey in April 2005 when he attended the 90th anniversary of the disastrous World War I Gallipoli campaign in which some 300,000 soldiers were killed.