German President to address parliament tomorrow

German President Christian Wulff today starts a five-day official visit to Turkey, the first such trip in 10 years. Wulff's official meetings start tomorrow, when he will be received by President Abdullah Gul with a military ceremony after laying a wreath at Anitkabir, Ataturk's mausoleum. After a joint presidential press conference, Wulff will hold talks with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Religious Affairs Directorate head Ali Bardakoglu, and later will address Parliament. On Wednesday Wulff will meet with Turkish civil society representatives and then travel to Gul's hometown, the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri, and address the Turkish-German Economy Forum, before proceeding to Adana. On Thursday he will attend a religious ceremony at the St. Paul Church in Tarsus before flying to Istanbul for an address at the historic Hagia Eirene church, on the grounds of the Topkapi Palace museum, where a German chamber choir will give a concert accompanied by Turkish pianist Sabri Tulug Tirpan. That evening the president and First Lady Hayrunnisa Gul will host a dinner for Wulff and his wife. On Friday Wulff will meet with Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew, visit Sultanahmet and the Hagia Sophia museum, and finally break ground, with Gul, on a long-planned Turkish-German University in Istanbul's Beykoz district.