Spear-carrying guardsmen, warriors decked in chain mail, gleaming golden helmets and even a few fake mustaches thrown in for good measure — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has spared nothing in a dramatic remake of his palace ceremonial guard.
On Monday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas could have been forgiven for thinking he had walked onto the scene of a historical costume drama or far-fetched ballet as he arrived for talks in Ankara with Erdogan.
As Abbas shook hands with Erdogan, the main staircase of the Turkish leader’s controversial new presidential palace was occupied by 16 warriors dressed in period armor — carrying spears, shields and clutching fearsome-looking swords.
Photo: AFP
Some of the costumes did not look entirely convincing and the scene was rapidly mocked on social media sites, with bloggers tweeting digitally altered pictures purporting to show Erdogan surrounded by Star Warsor Lord of the Rings characters in place of the warriors.
The official Anatolia news agency later reported that the 16 warriors each represented one of the 16 empires of Turkish history, dating back to well before the Turkic conquest of Asia Minor, where modern-day Turkey is located.
These past chapters of Turkic history include the Hunnic Empire founded about 200BC through to the Seljuk Empire, the Mughal Empire and the Ottoman Empire, which was dissolved in the 1920s with the foundation of the Republic of Turkey.
These 16 empires are also symbolized in the 16 stars of the official seal of the Turkish presidency, which has been given a new prominence since Erdogan moved from the office of the prime minister in presidential elections in August last year.
State media reports implied that the warriors would be a regular feature at ceremonies in the palace and had not just been wheeled out specially for Abbas.
Social media users rushed to mock the scene.
“Ottoman circus in the palace,” prominent Turkish journalist Kadri Gursel tweeted.
Commentator Eren Erdem ironically suggested that behind the disguise one of the warriors was in fact Fuat Avni, a mystery Turkish blogger who claims to be able to foretell Erdogan’s every intention.
Erdogan opened his hugely controversial new presidential palace on the outskirts of Ankara in October last year. It has 1,150 rooms and was built at a cost of about 490 million euros (US$579 million).
He says that the palace is a symbol of a resurgent Turkey that he is building. Opponents decry it as an extravagance in an increasingly authoritarian state.
Erdogan has also increasingly harked back to Turkish history well before the foundation of modern Turkey in 1923, sparking accusations that he wants to undermine its modern and secular foundations.
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