The Turkish president opened a gigantic palace for 7.6 billion crowns

Publisher
ČTK
29.10.2014 16:30

Ankara - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan today inaugurated a new gigantic presidential palace in the suburbs of the capital Ankara on the occasion of the national holiday. Due to the mining disaster in the south of the country on Wednesday, in which 18 miners are still missing, he canceled the ceremonial reception at his new residence, along with other celebrations.
    
The giant white palace, mockingly renamed "White House" by his critics, was intended by Erdogan, when he was still Prime Minister, as the residence of the Prime Minister. According to AFP, the entire complex covers an area of 20 hectares and is located on the outskirts of the Turkish metropolis in a place where the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, wanted to establish a tree farm.
     The building, designed in neo-Seljuk architectural style (after the first Turkish dynasty, the Seljuks, which ruled over Asia Minor in the 11th to 13th centuries), reportedly cost Turkish media 350 million dollars (approximately 7.6 billion CZK).
     The construction work in the ecologically protected area sparked opposition from environmental activists. Protests were intensified as the construction of Erdogan's residence was completed at a rapid pace despite a court order to stop work on the site.
     Erdogan, accused by opponents of authoritarianism and Islamism, was elected head of state this August after eleven years as Prime Minister. The Turkish president today has only ceremonial powers, but Erdogan has indicated that he intends to govern the country in this role based on changes to the constitution.
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