Sales of a controversial Turkish novel about a conspiracy to kill Pope Benedict XVI are soaring ahead of the pontiff's historic visit to Turkey next week, reported AKI.

“The Plot against the Pope”, by Yuvel Kaya, has Opus Dei, a subversive Masonic lodge, and the CIA colluding to make the Pontiff's murder a pretext for a U.S. attack against Iran.

The book cover features Benedict XVI in front of a burning cross with a bearded gunman aiming a rocket launcher at him.

Lale Yilmaz of Kabalci, one the country's biggest book stores, told AKI that sales are picking up, despite the absence of advertising. However, she said she could not give exact sales figures.

Zeynep Yaman an employee of Alfa Dagitim, one of the six companies distributing the books, told AKI that more copies of the book have been bought over the last 10 days than at any other time. To date, about 10,000 copies have been sold, which is considered high in Turkey, Yaman added.