Apple's CEO Tim Cook is now in Turkey for the opening of the company's first retail store in the country. Cook is also scheduled to meet Turkish President Abdullah Gul.
Cook is slated to meet the Turkish President on Tuesday, Feb. 4, at the Cankaya Presidential Compound in Ankara, per the president's official calendar. The meeting will take place at 11 a.m. local time.
Rumor has it that Cook may be signing a lucrative iPad deal. According to the grapevine, Cook will discuss Turkey's "FATIH Project" with President Gul, which aims to replace traditional teaching equipment in the classroom with advanced teaching aids like Apple's iPad.
Earlier in December 2013, reports surfaced that Cook and select Apple executives were set to visit Turkey in February to discuss a possible iPad deal worth over $4 billion. The reports also hinted that the visit would coincide with the launch of Turkey's first brick and mortar Apple store.
In November 2013, Turkey got its first Apple online store, and now the first retail Apple store, which was previously set to open in December, will be opening its doors in the country. The flagship Apple store in Turkey is a 21,500 square foot outlet, which is located in Istanbul's Zorlu Center.
Reportedly, some key Apple executives traveled to Turkey in February 2013 to discuss the lucrative Apple deal, a $4.5 billion initiative of the Turkish government, which could lead to the purchase of nearly 15 million iPads for the country's education system. In May 2013, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also visited several Silicon Valley companies, including Apple, to share ideas and vision about the project.
Tim Cook's visit to Turkey is part of an international tour which also saw him visit Ireland and the United Arab Emirates.
