Religions, civilizations to meet in Turkish city of Hatay in late September

The eyes of the world will turn to the Turkish city of Hatay from September 25-30, when religious leaders of five different faiths come together there for a Meeting of Civilizations. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who will officially open up the meeting, is expected to make a call for an "international platform against global terrorism." An invitation to the Meeting of Civilizations was issued to Pope Benedict XVI by the Foreign Ministry, and though the Pope himself will not be attending, the Vatican is sending four high ranking members to the event. A variety of other religious leaders are also expected to attend, including Armenian Patriarch Mesrob Mutafian, Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomeus, Syrian Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius Zekka Ayyvaz, and Turkish Jewish community leader Silvio Ovadio.  The Turkish Foreign Ministry is giving active support to the Meeting of Civilizations, hoping among other things that it will have a positive effect in the days leading up to the October 3 start to EU accession talks. Â