Friday 21 November 2014

Too Big For His Palace

He became 'President' instead of Prime Minister this year ~ It was a ceremonial role when he was Prime Minister for a decade, but now like President / Prime Minister Putin in Russia, he just rearranges power to suit his role and keeps it in his hands.

The New Sultan And His Clients ~ Looks Like A Hotel Foyer.
 
He is now Turkeys new Ottoman Ruler .....  Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan I
  • The new Turkish President will cost the Turkish taxpayer about £385m ($615m) for his new Palace, plus another $135m which has been budgeted for its completion in 2015. 
  • His new palace is bigger than the White House in Washington, the Kremlin in Moscow, Buckingham palace in London and even the Palace of Versailles near Paris ... delusions of Sultanate grandeur indeed.
  • In order to build it, hundreds of trees were cut down to make space for it in what had been a forest reserve, bequeathed to the nation by modern Turkey's secular founding father, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (this would once have been a criminal offence in Turkey ... he ignored over 30 outstanding legal challenges to the building ~ one rule for the new sultan, one for the others). 
  • Other Presidential properties will be renovated next year, notably the Huber Palace in Istanbul, and a guest house in Marmaris, on the Aegean coast. 
  • To top off his new role, $185m will be spent on a new Airbus A330-200 Presidential jet. 'Sultan I' anyone?

He even had one of his new 'subjects' fined for smoking in a spot he didn't think proper .... shades of the Sultans here.

The Presidential Palace, Ankara Turkey ~ Looks Like Stalinist Building.

Oh, and the new 'prime minister' and nominally the leader of the country?

Well Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will now be using the modest Cankaya Palace in Ankara, which Mr Erdogan has vacated as too small for his head.

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