In fact, Mr. Arafat is expected to make a brief symbolic visit to Jericho soon, certainly within a month, and eventually establish his home base there, moving from Tunis.

But beyond this, for Israel the trip consists, as one newspaper put it, of a largely "symbolic visit" by the "man who calls the shots" in south Lebanon.

Protestant church leaders are today to make a symbolic visit to Derry's nationalist Bogside area, where the killings took place, to meet the families of the victims.

The real challenge for the White House, apart from protecting the President, is to follow a symbolic visit with substantive help.

She also made a hugely symbolic visit to Croke Park stadium where in 1920 British troops opened fire at a Gaelic football match killing 14.

Earlier Mr Kinnock embarked on Labour's self-appointed task of rebuilding Britain with a symbolic eve-of-poll visit to a brickworks.

"We believe the arts have an inner healing power and speak a universal truth," Mr. Mitchell said of the highly symbolic visit.

But the progress toward reconciliation has been stuck at the level of minor commercial agreements and symbolic visits because of hostility over Cyprus, where Turkey maintains an occupation force.

I hope that this symbolic visit will go some way to improving transatlantic relations, which have been somewhat strained recently.

He was dressed for the outdoors; the fur-collared coat he'd worn the first day, on that symbolic visit to the kennels.