The statue of Ertuğrul Gazi, which was erected within the scope of the project, turned out not to look like Ertuğrul Gazi, but Engin Altan Düzyatan, the actor who played the historical figure in the series “Resurrection Ertuğrul” aired on the state-run TRT-1.
A total of 20 busts made of bronze and basalt stone by artist Ömer Gençtürk were placed in the square in front of the city hall on June 4.
However, both the people living in the city and social media users stated that the bust with Ertuğrul Gazi’s name on it resembles actor Düzyatan at first glance.
The bust was removed by the municipal officers and an administrative investigation was launched against the persons responsible as the debate heated up.
“We were disturbed by the fact that the bust of Ertuğrul Gazi resembles Engin Altan Düzyatan, the leading actor in the Resurrection Ertuğrul series and the same day the bust in question was removed,” said ithe municipality in a written statement.
“Necessary investigation has been initiated about those responsible for negligence. We thank all the public for the sensitivity they have shown,” the statement added.
Previously, the statue of actor Düzyatan was built instead of Ertuğrul Gazi in the northwestern province of Bilecik.
Ertuğrul Gazi led a small band of warriors under the leadership of Anatolian Seljuk sultan in the mid-13th century. With his death in 1280, the leadership of his small tribe passed onto his son Osman, who is known to have established the Ottoman state in 1299.
Ertuğrul Gazi’s life has come to attract significant interest in the past few years due to the popularity of the TV show Diriliş Ertuğrul.
The Turkish television series has taken many countries, especially Pakistan recently, by storm.
According to the state-run Pakistan Television (PTV), 133 million people have so far watched the drama series from April 25- May 14.
Also, its episodes are trending on YouTube in Pakistan every day.