ANKARA - Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and consort Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, will start their state visit to Turkey on Tuesday.
Queen Elizabeth and her husband will first visit Anitkabir, the mausoleum of Ataturk (founder of Republic of Turkey) in Turkish capital Ankara. Turkish President Abdullah Gul will welcome the monarch with full military honors at the Cankaya Presidential Palace.
Gul and his spouse will have a meeting with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip after the ceremony. Gul will host a dinner in honor of the queen the same day.
The royal couple is scheduled to visit northwestern province of Bursa on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip will visit Istanbul, where they will host a reception in honor of Turkish President Abdullah Gul and his spouse at the HMS Illustrious, an aircraft carrier of the British Royal Navy that would accompany the queen at her visit to Turkey.
On Friday, the last day of her visit to Turkey, the queen and her husband will return to Ankara to bid farewell to President Gul and his wife.
The monarch is scheduled to attend a reception to be hosted by the British Embassy in Ankara and then depart from Turkey late Friday.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh last visited Turkey in October 1971.
(TÇ-AÖ)