ISTANBUL, June 27 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Tens of thousands of Turks gathered Sunday, June 27, to demonstrate against the visit of US President George W. Bush to attend a two-day NATO summit.

Wielding banners and shouting slogans such as "Yankees Go Home," "This Country is Ours" and "United States, Assassins, Leave the Middle East", the noisy rally got underway about four hours before Bush's scheduled arrival in Turkey’s largest city, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Protestors also donned anti-Bush and anti-NATO T-shirts, while banners read "Imperialism and NATO are the Biggest Enemies of Peace".

The demonstration, organized by three anti-NATO groups as well as trade unions and civil groups, took place about four kilometres from so-called "NATO Valley" on the other side of the Bosphorus strait.

Hundreds of police backed by armored vehicles prevented the demonstrators from entering key roads as they marched peacefully towards Kadikoy square on the banks of the Bosphorus.

Life was brought to a standstill in Istanbul as authorities banned traffic and deployed thousands of police to guarantee Bush’s safety.

Fighter jets roared overhead, warships patrolled the Bosphorus strait and swathes of the city were sealed off.

A large central area around the venue of the summit, slated on June 28-29, was completely blocked off, while a wider area stretching several kilometres was sealed to traffic and pedestrians underwent police searches before being allowed to enter.

Istanbul authorities have been hard at work for weeks cleaning up the sprawling city, renewing pavements and planting flowers.

Turkish women protesters shout slogans "We Don't Want Bush and Blair" (AFP)

The normally bustling Taksim square, just a few hundred meters from the summit venue, was almost deserted Sunday as many locals stayed at home to avoid the security restrictions.

"Business is down 50 percent today and it's likely to be worse over the next two days," said an employee of the Starbuck's coffee shop chain on the city's Istiqlal main shopping street.

Many residents, especially those whose children have just begun their summer school holidays, decided the best way to avoid hassle was to leave town for the weekend.

Those who stayed faced severe restrictions on their movements.

Yassim Kaya, a 30-year-old who works in a downtown bookshop, complained that he had not been able to drive to work and that the bus he had to take left him kilometres away from his shop.

"Tomorrow will be even worse," he said.

Istanbul, straddling the busy Bosphorus waterway that separates Europe and Asia, has been already on edge since Thursday, June 24, when a bomb exploded in a crowded bus and killed four people.

Police and armed forces were taking no chances Sunday in the vast metropolis where more than 60 people lost their lives in attacks  last year.

The summit, where training the Iraqi army and extending NATO's operations in Afghanistan were to top the agenda, was expected to bring 3,000 delegates and some 3,500 reporters to the city.