Erdoğan receives Archbishop of Canterbury in Ankara

ANKARA

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan received Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the spiritual leader of the Church of England, on Feb. 15 at the Presidential Palace in the capital Ankara. 

The meeting, which took closed to the press, was a first between Erdoğan and Welby.

Erdoğan gifted Welby the book titled “New Turkey’s Vision: The World is Bigger Than Five” and a copy of a letter that Sultan Murad III of the Ottoman Empire wrote to Queen Elizabeth I of the United Kingdom.

The letter encompassed the message that the Ottoman Empire would protect the British merchants and this protection would be valid until the friendship between the two empires lasted.

The framed letter read, “as long as we act together against the enemies and abide by the agreement signed between the Ottoman Empire and the United Kingdom, British merchants will not be subject to any unfair treatment. They will be respected just like those who are friends with the Ottoman sultans. We welcome the rescue of Muslim people who were kept hostage in Spain, by the United Kingdom. The Ottoman Empire will send a fleet in spring in an effort to help the United Kingdom.”

Ottoman Sultan Murad III reigned from Dec. 22, 1574 to Jan. 16, 1595.

Numerous envoys and letters were exchanged between Sultan Murad III and Queen Elizabeth I. The Queen also discussed joint military operations with Sultan Murad III during the outbreak of the war with Spain in 1585.