Turkey: Mysterious metal monolith turns out to be 'publicity gimmick' by government

A metal monolith that was spotted in Sanliurfa province, southeast of Turkey by a farmer on Friday, February 5, has turned out to be a ‘publicity gimmick’ right before a government event on Tuesday, February 9. The shiny metal block was found erected near the UNESCO World Heritage site named Gobekli Tepe. The structure appeared to be of megalithic origin, and had a message emblazoned in the old Turkey script that read: ‘Look at the sky, see the moon’. The three-meter-high metallic tower donned a complex structure form that seemed to strike resemblance from thousands of years past Stonehedge era archaeology during the 10th millennium BC. 

The mystery behind monolith 

During the event, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a space program for the country. While the announcement was being made, an image of the monolith was projected on a screen. This was done when Erdogan presented Turkey’s space program during a televised event. According to the reports by AP, he said, “I now present to you Turkey’s 10-year vision, strategy and aims and I say: ‘look at the sky, you will see the moon”. 

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Gendarmes were investigating CCTV footage and inspecting vehicles to determine who transported and installed the monolith, Turkish media said Monday. Turkish police officers were deployed to guard the structure that mysteriously appeared in an open field.  The field’s owner, Fuat Demirdil, was astonished by both its appearance and disappearance, reported the state-run Anadolu Agency. As per the agency reports he said that he did not know if it was placed on his field for marketing purposes or as an advertisement. He further added that the residents cannot solve the mystery of the metal block. 

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Other mysterious monoliths have similarly appeared and some have disappeared in numerous countries in recent months. The unclaimed monolith first appeared in a Utah desert, then a Romanian mountainside, followed by Corona Heights Park, San Francisco, and the rest of the world, at strange locations. A metal monolith had also popped up outside a Pittsburgh candy store, which mysteriously disappeared. The business owner had then installed a replacement monolith in order to attract the world’s attention to support the struggling small businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic.  “We rebuilt another,” the store wrote in an online post, adding, “We are honoured by the overwhelmingly positive response to the hundreds of people who drove to the Strip today to take a selfie and see our ‘monolith’”. A similar structure was spotted on the Compton beach of the Isle of Wight by beach-goers.

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(Image Credits: AP)