ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) — The son of former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl married his Turkish fiancee at a Roman Catholic church in Istanbul on Saturday, in a match seen by some Turks as a reconciliation with an old opponent.
Peter Kohl and Elif Sozen were wed in the Church of St. Anthony of Padua, the largest Catholic church in this mainly Muslim city, with a civil ceremony at a former Ottoman palace — now a hotel — on the shores of the Bosporus straits.
For many Turks, the wedding brought a symbolic olive branch. During 16 years in power, Helmut Kohl was seen here as one of the main obstacles to Turkey's efforts to join the European Union and to the demands of Germany's large Turkish population for greater rights.
A crowd of some 250 curious Turks and German tourists gathered outside the church gates as the couple arrived in a three-car convoy.
"Germans had a bad impression of Turks who went to Germany to find jobs," said Osman Sertbas as he waited for a glimpse of the newlyweds. "I think that these kind of events could help change those ideas."
Since the romance between the couple, both in their mid-30s, became public knowledge in Turkey, feelings here toward the ex-chancellor have softened.