Prior to an official ceremony for Republic Day earlier this week, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan displayed his new pad: a jaw-dropping 2,150,000-square-foot, $350 million complex.
Erdoğan—who became the country's 12th president on August 28th after serving as its prime minister from 2003 to 2014—will be moving out of his "humble" two-story palace built by the first Turkish president in the 1920s.
The palace has been built inside Ataturk Forest Farm on the outskirts of Ankara. While many people of Turkey are expressing their disapproval of the ostentatious compound and the new leader's autocratic style, Erdoğan asserts that this move is symbolic of his ushering in a "New Turkey."
The complex, located in the Bestepe (Five Hills) area, has become known as "Ak Saray" (the White Palace), and has 40 times the floor space of the White House in Washington.
The structure's architecture aims to blend modernism with the traditional style of mediaeval Seljuk dynasty. The 1,000-room complex will utilize interior design to demonstrate the "New Turkey," with details such as a tree-lined foyer and futuristic orange lights. Erdoğan commented, "We paid attention to Ottoman themes in the interior, also adding elements reflecting the modern world."
Photos and details courtesy of The Guardian and Curbed
