Turkey's minister of state Besir Atalay is expected to host Pope Benedict XVI during his first visit to a Muslim-majority country taking place from 28 November to 1 December. During the three-day visit, the pontiff will meet Turkey's president Ahmet Necdet Sezer, the Orthodox patriarch Bartholomew I and other religious leaders, including the head of the religious affairs directorate and grand mufti of Turkey, Ali Bardakoglu.
Upon his arrival on 28 November in the capital, Ankara, Benedict will visit the shrine of Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the modern, secular Turkish state, the Vatican announced. He will then meet meet Sezer, Bardakoglu, and Turkish diplomats, the Vatican said.
On 29 November, Benedict will celebrate mass in the coastal city Ephesus, the site of the most important sanctuary to the virgin Mary in Anatolia. On 30 November - the Feast of Saint Andrew - he and Bartholomew I will sign a joint declaration of ecumenical dialogue between the Catholic and Orthodox churches before celebrating a liturgy together.
While in Istanbul, Benedict will also meet Armenian, Syrian Orthodox and Jewish leaders and will dine with members of the Turkish Conference of Bishops. On the last day of his visit, on 1 December, he will celebrate mass in the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit.
Atalay - who is responsible for Turkey's public TV channel TRT and the national statistics institute - has extensive previous experience of accompanying high ranking officials during their visits to the country and has signalled he is happy to act as the pontiff's host.
There has been speculation that Islamist rooted Erdogan deliberately avoided meeting Benedict in reaction to his recent controversial statements linking Islam to violence and unreason during a speech in September at the University of Regensburg in Germany.
This has been repeatedly denied by Erdogan and other government officials, who have stated that the premier's attendance at a NATO summit in Latvia was a prior commitment the Vatican was aware of when planning the pontiff's visit. "I will be at the NATO Summit in Riga. Am I supposed to cancel because of the pope’s visit? " Erdogan said on Monday.
"I do not escape. The pope has 2 titles; that of religious leader and head of state. As the religious leader he will meet Turkey's religious affairs directorate chairman, Ali Bardakoglu. As head of state, he will meet president Ahmet Necdet Sezer. What is there to read into this?" Erdogan added.
Gul will also be abroad during Benedict's first official visit to Turkey.
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