” “To the Prefect of Istanbul who recalled how Turkey is "a lay and democratic country engaged in a dialogue between civilisations and in the path to the accession to the European Union", Benedict XVI answered that "Istanbul is a really European city, a bridge between the West and Asia, to bring organisations and facilities closer to each other", then, at the news that in 2010 the city will be the European Capital of Culture, the Pontiff stated: "it really deserves to be" and revealed with a smile that his "native city too has asked for such honour, but it had not been granted". Before heading for the ladder of the airplane that is flying him back to the Vatican, the Pope greeted again the Prefect, who invited him to go back to Istanbul. His was a prompt reply: "I am old and I do not know how much time the Lord is going to leave me. Let’s entrust everything to Him". He is due to be back in Italy, at the airport of Ciampino, Rome, at 2.45 pm.” “
