Europe’s biggest theme park opens in Turkish capital

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday inaugurated Europe's biggest theme park in capital Ankara.

“Ankapark will have major contributions to our city,” Erdogan told the opening ceremony of the landmark project, which is also called Wonderland Eurasia.

He said the project will increase the brand value of Ankara and visitors will enjoy the park free of charge until the evening of March 31.

“Ankapark, with individually designed 1,217 amusement attractions, also hosts the world's second biggest fountain, which can reach 120 meters [around 394 feet] in height,” he said.

“Ankapark is also an environment-friendly project with a 10-megawatt solar energy system, which will meet a certain amount of its electricity need,” Erdogan added.

He noted that the project, which cost around 1.4 billion Turkish liras ($255 million), will gain the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality some 50 million liras ($9.1 million) annually.

Around 5 million domestic and foreign tourists are expected annually to visit Wonderland Eurasia.

The park was built by the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality and covers an area of 1.3 million square meters.

The park boasts more than 2 million species of plants and trees as well as a 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) rail system and some 6,800 parking spaces.