ANKARA (AFP) – The decaying dinosaur toys outside the abandoned theme park tell the tale of grand ambition, waste and troubles facing the long-ruling party of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The problems started early for “Wonderland Eurasia”, meant to be Europe’s largest amusement venue and billed by Erdogan as “a symbol of pride” at its opening in Ankara in March 2019.
Two days after the inauguration, a rollercoaster broke down, forcing people to scramble down to safety.
Public restrooms were a mess, some rides stood unfinished, and areas remained off-limits despite a reported $801 million spent on building Turkey’s version of Disneyland.
The park closed less than a year after it opened when the operator struggled to pay staff wages and electricity bills since there were not enough customers.
For Erdogan’s critics, the park is one of the biggest symbols of waste by mayors from his ruling AK Party, in power for two decades and facing a general election no later than 2023.
Such was the level of anger, some of Turkey’s biggest cities -- including Ankara and Istanbul -- voted for mayors from opposition parties in 2019.
“Ankara’s urgent need was not a Disneyland. It was transport,” said Tezcan Karakus Candan, who heads the Chamber of Architects’ Ankara branch, pointing out that the capital already has a large amusement park.
“This was a project of extravagance.”
The city is now suing the operator in an attempt to win back control and try to do something constructive with the land.
An Ankara court will rule on the request on September 13.
The park itself stands eerily quiet, its broken toys and ride parts collecting dust and rotting at a waste site a few kilometers (miles) away.
Yet its problems appear never-ending, with the city reporting at least 21 attempts to steal its cables in the last three months alone.
Ankara’s popular current mayor, Mansur Yavas, seen as a possible presidential challenger to Erdogan, claims the park cost $801 million.