Mrs. Mubarak visits German State of Hessen

Egypt's First Lady Suzanne Mubarak visited on Wednesday the parliament of the German State of Hessen, on the sidelines of the 56th session of the Frankfurt Book Fair.

Mrs. Mubarak met Hessen Prime Minister Roland Koch, who hailed the strong relations with Egypt and Egyptian development efforts.

He said that the world's largest literary event has chosen the Arab world to be the guest of honor this year to get an unfiltered view of the Arab culture and civilization and to bridge the gap between the Arab world and the West.

Mrs. Mubarak has toured the picturesque parliament's premises, which date back to 1842.

She also paid a brief visit to the city of Wiesbaden in Hessen where she had talks with its Mayor Hildebrand Diehl.

Mrs. Mubarak also witnessed the award-giving ceremony of a leading festival in Hessen.

Egyptian veteran movie star Omar Sherif was given Maximilian Schell's Best Cinematography award for his "Mr. Ibrahim and the Flowers of Quran" movie.

The movie, set in Paris during the early 1960's, follows the unlikely course of a friendship that builds between an elderly Turkish grocer and a Jewish teenager.

A rapprochement between both religions ensues as the characters learn more about each other's beliefs and way of life.