Prince Charles, defender of Islam: Asia Times

By Fazile Zahir

FETHIYE, Turkey - The recent visit by Britain's Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip to Turkey was hailed as a great success. The 82-year-old British monarch won favor with the local people by describing Turkey as a "confident and dynamic democracy" and praising close ties between Ankara and London.

She underlined British support for Turkey's bid to join the European Union, showed respect for the past by visiting the tomb of modern Turkey's secularist founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, in Ankara and for the present government by covering her hair when she visited an ancient mosque in Bursa and listened to a reading from the Koran.

The Turkish press on the whole recounted the visit as the queen's second to Turkey, the first having taken place 37 years ago in 1971. At that time, too, the public response was positive and excited crowds surged past protective barriers and swarmed the royal party's open-top cars. Back then, she took the opportunity to present a trophy to the winner of a horse race held in her honor. On this visit she was surprised and pleased to discover that the Queen Elizabeth Cup Race has continued annually ever since.

Some members of the press speculated that this was actually her third visit - a secret visit allegedly having taken place in 1961 to plead for clemency towards some Democratic Party politicians sentenced for execution. Apparently, she was turned down and left having seen no more than the airport. Despite odd rumors like this one, Turkey and Britain have on the whole a cordial friendship, with the British having at times been Turkey's only supporter for EU accession.

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