The inauguration will be the closing event of his three-day state visit, aimed at repairing frayed ties with Berlin after two years of tensions. They held banners proclaiming "Erdogan not welcome" and shouted slogans such as "International solidarity" and "Away with fascism". Erdogan supporters meanwhile will gather at the Cologne Central Mosque, an imposing dome-shaped building next to the shadowy, Turkish-controlled Ditib organisation. The giant Cologne Central Mosque opened its doors in 2017 after eight years of construction and budget overruns. The group runs hundreds of mosques across Germany with imams paid by the Turkish state.

Source: The Local September 29, 2018 09:56 UTC