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Turkey bids farewell to former Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan - PHOTOSESSION

Turkey bids farewell to former Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan - <font color=red>PHOTOSESSION</font>

01 March 2011 16:16 (UTC +04:00)

The first funeral prayer for Erbakan was performed in Ankaraâ€™s historic HacÄ± Bayram Veli Mosque and then his body was flown to Istanbul for mass funeral prayer to be held at noon. A large group of citizens including some members of the cabinet attended Erbakan’s first funeral prayer held in Ankara in early morning hours. Contrary to a previous announcement that there will be only commemoration prayers, not a funeral prayer at the HacÄ± Bayram Veli Mosque, the presence of a large number of people at the mosque made them perform the funeral prayer.
The crowd in Ankara bid farewell to Erbakan by saying salavat and tekbir.
Then his body was flown to Istanbul for mass funeral prayer at noon. Some party members and Erbakan’s relatives also travelled with the same plane which flew Erbakanâ€™s body to Istanbul. Hundreds of thousands including President Abdullah GÃ¼l, Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Åžahin, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan and other state dignitaries as well as foreign diplomats, scientists, artists, and many other prominent figures of the society attended the mass funeral for Erbakan in Istanbul. Erbakan will be laid to rest in Merkez Efendi Cemetery near his wife Nermin Erbakan. An influx of huge number of people to Istanbul’s Fatih Mosque, where Erbakanâ€™s funeral prayers were performed, has created an atmosphere full of fidelity and faithfulness. Tens of thousands of people from every corner of Turkey attended Erbakanâ€™s funeral at Istanbul’s Fatih Mosque. Meanwhile, authorities have closed some roads to traffic around the mosque and the security alert is at the highest in the region.

Note: the photos were taken form the official website of â€œMilliyetâ€ website.