McAleese begins Turkey visit

President Mary McAleese leaves today for a three-day visit to Turkey to mark the deaths of thousands of Irish soldiers in the First World War.

On Wednesday, she will attend wreath-laying ceremonies in the Gallipoli region where nearly 4,000 Irish troops died in a bloody five-month campaign in 1915.

She will first lay a wreath on the main Turkish memorial, the Monument of Martyrs, before attending a commemoration at Green Hill Cemetery in memory of the Irish soldiers who lost their lives and are buried in the area.

The official visit begins with Mrs McAleese travelling to the capital, Ankara, tomorrow to meet President Abdullah Gul and later Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. She will also lay a wreath on the tomb of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Later, she will meet Mehmet Ali Sahin, Speaker of the Turkish Parliament, and attend a reception for the Irish community hosted by the Irish ambassador.