Abandoned Ankara theme park subject of lawsuits, political controversy
The opposition mayor says the Wonderland Eurasia theme park, or Ankapark, cost $801 million as he files criminal complaint.
ISTANBUL — Once hailed as Europe’s biggest theme park, Turkey’s Ankapark is now a landscape of decaying fiberglass dinosaurs and scattered debris left by thieves and vandals — as well as the subject of ongoing claims of mismanagement and corruption.
The park, located in northern Ankara on land bequeathed by Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, recently passed into the hands of the city’s current municipal administration after remaining open for less than eight months.
Since plans for the amusement park were announced by then Justice and Development Party (AKP) Mayor Melih Gokcek in 2013, the scheme has been buffeted by legal problems and political scandal.
It was officially opened as Wonderland Eurasia by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in March 2019 just a few days before nationwide local elections as “[not] just a symbol of pride for Ankara, but all of Turkey.”
