PM Erdoğan visits President Gül in hospital

Erdoğan was accompanied by Health Minister Recep Akdağ during his visit. The visit lasted for about an hour.

Gül was hospitalized on Aug. 23. Due to his recurring ear problem, the president cut short a visit to Kyrgyzstan for the Second Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (CCTS) in Bishkek, a visit he had begun last Wednesday.

Gül, who underwent ear surgery in 2006 at the Gülhane Military Academy of Medicine (GATA) in Ankara during his term as foreign minister, was reportedly advised not to fly too often to avoid the recurrence of the problem. In June 2012, the president's trips to Latvia and Lithuania had to be cancelled. Gül's trip to Sweden scheduled for Sept. 9-12 is likely to be cancelled.

The president was expected to be discharged from hospital Monday afternoon. He was still in hospital at the time Today's Zaman went to print. He was also expected to hold a meeting with the prime minister and Chief of General Staff Gen. Necdet Özel on Monday evening.