Former mayor of Ankara ordered $66,000 robot resembling him, report reveals

The former mayor of Turkiye’s capital, Ankara, is revealed to have ordered a robot resembling him for over $60,000, which he later discarded as it did not look like him.

According to a report by the Turkish newspaper, Birgün, former mayor of Ankara city municipality, Melih Gokcek, had ordered a robot back in 2023 for the promotion of the theme park, Ankapark.

The construction and establishment of the site racked up significant expenses amounting to over $801 million, all spent during Gokcek’s term.

It has now reportedly been revealed that $66,000 – over 2 million Turkish liras – was spent on a robot meant to resemble the former mayor.

Despite the high costs of the robot, Gokcek reportedly disapproved of it and said “this does not look like me’’. It was then moved to the Ankapark Promotion Tent, before later moving the robot into storage.

READ: Desolate Turkiye amusement park touted as testament to government waste