Erdoğan: The horse whisperer

Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan is getting some 50 stallions for the rumored horse farm to be built on the grounds of his lavish presidential palace. In a speech at a new hippotherapy center, he stressed the special place horses have in Turkish culture and the importance to have a cavalry regiment for the welcoming ceremonies when foreign leaders visit his place. “If you can greet your guests with a costumed horse parade what’s the point of being the President for pete’s sake!” Future plans for palace festivities allegedly include equine aquatics where horses will perform water manoeuvres, equine gymnastics where horses will perform Cirque du Soleil routines and an Ottoman-meets-Far-West theme zone where guests can saddle up and participate in battle re-enactments like the sacking of Constantinople.