CAIRO: Turkey's President Abdullah Gul on Thursday called for a transparent transitional period in Egypt, as he paid a visit to Cairo. "We're in a phase in which Egyptians must act rationally, and should strive to satisfy popular demands during this transitional period," Gul told reporters. "We have come [to Egypt] to share our experience and our expectations, with sincerity, in these critical moments," he added. Gul was visiting Cairo in what an aide said was a show of "solidarity with the Egyptian state and people" two weeks after a wave of massive protests forced president Hosni Mubarak to resign after three decades of rule. Turkey is often cited as an example of how Islam and democracy can co-exist, and Gul was one of the first Muslim leaders to call for Mubarak to step down during Egypt's uprising. Upon his arrival in Cairo, the Turkish president met General Hussein Tantawi, head of Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, to which Mubarak handed power upon his resignation. The Turkish leader, whose party was borne out of the Islamist movement, was to meet Arab League secretary general Amr Moussa, as well as former atomic agency chief turned opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei.
