Coming soon: Erdogan Museum

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is tributing himself with a museum to be built in his name.

The museum which will be located in Kasimpasa, a district lying on Istanbul’s historical Golden Horn where Erdogan has spent his younghood, is planned to be opened before Turkey’s presidential elections scheduled for early summer.

Journalist Murat Sabuncu from T24 on Wednesday shared the photos of the museum’s draft presentation, that features Erdogan’s “lifetime”, including his childhood, younghood and his days in politics, enriched with photos and videos reflecting his statements made in several domestic and international platforms.

According to the draft approved by Erdogan himself, his family members, especially his wife Emine Erdogan will also be featured in the museum, Sabuncu said.

A gift for the Museum…

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu who last month a Turkish court sentenced him to prison and banned him from politics, a move seen by the opposition circles as Erdogan’s attempt to eliminate a possible presidential candidate ahead of the elections, was preparing a “gift” for the museum, according to a December report by OdaTV.

The report alleged that Imamoglu had repaired the office car used by Erdogan during his Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Presidency back in 1990’s and will present this vehicle to the Museum as a surprise.

The owner of the Museum’s land; a Gulenist…

According to Sabuncu, the property which the museum will be built on, belongs to Turkish businessperson Fettah Tamince who had forged close ties with the Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, the leader of the Gulen Movement that Erdogan blames for the failed coup of July 2016.

Despite saying that Fethullah Gulen was his “idol”, despite being the co-owner of the closed-down Zaman, a newspaper linked to the Gülen Movement and despite having invested money in now-defunct Bank Asya which was also linked with the group, Tamince was acquitted of all such charges, where each of them is a reason for arrest and punishment for ordinary people in Turkey, Sabuncu said.