Ankara Municipality to build 70 huge pools decorated with eccentric statues

Hacer Boyacıoğlu - ANKARA

Some 70 large pools are planned to be built across the Turkish capital as part of a project expected to cost around 15 million Turkish Liras ($5.4 million), as part of the Ankara Municipality’s latest eccentric urban planning scheme.The municipality is also set to purchase a series of abstract sculptures to decorate the pools, according to a tender specification released on April 24.According to the details, a total of 70 pools up to 875-cm in length will be built across the capital, decorated in line with drawings included in the tender specifications.Some 30 “duck sculptures” 80 cm in height, 10 “fish sculptures” 150 cm long, two “peacock sculptures” 210 cm in width, 20 “seahorse sculptures” weighing 150 kg, 12 “snail sculptures,” 12 “turtle sculptures” 50 cm in width, an “Angora cat sculpture” 225 cm in length, one “giraffe sculpture” and one “Angora goat sculpture” will be built.Some 1,122 giant vases will also be bought in line with the tender.A total of 1,297 “abstract sculptures” will also be bought in 18 different models are also planned to be acquired by the municipality, designed by the company that wins the bid.The project marks the latest plan to raise eyebrows by the municipality and its controversial Mayor Melih Gökçek, a member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).Last year, the municipality installed a series of bizarre statues on road intersections around the city, as part of promotion efforts for a new local theme park. The huge statues that appeared across the Turkish capital ranged from a sculpture of a gigantic dinosaur to a Transformers-esque robot.