Gul presents Presidential Grand Awards at Cankaya Palace

President Abdullah Gul presented Presidential Grand Awards in Art and Culture in a ceremony at Cankaya Palace yesterday. Speaking at the ceremony, Gul said that guidance of artists and intellectuals was always necessary so that nations and governments could safely continue down their paths. "The politicians and statesmen could be occasionally affected by conjunctures, but artists and intellectuals always have common sense and consciousness in their actions," Gul said, adding, "We are now at an award ceremony, but you have already given the real prize to our nation with your work." Attending the ceremony were Deputy Prime Ministers Bulent Arinc and Besir Atalay, Food, Agriculture and Livestock Minister Mehmet Mehdi Eker, Customs and Trade Minister Hayati Yazici, Culture and Tourism Minister Ertugrul Gunay, Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek, National Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz, as well as a great many Parliament members and distinguished guests from business, media, literature and art circles.