Turkish opposition slate Erdogan’s ‘sultan’s seal’

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan unveiled a new symbol for the Turkish lira yesterday, only for the opposition it looked an Ottoman sultan’s seal.

“Just like the dollar, euro and yen, the Turkish lira now has a symbol,” said Mr Erdogan at an unveiling ceremony.

The symbol, chosen after a competition, is meant to bring together the letters T and L, and to be reminiscent of an anchor.

But the opposition said it looked like the prime minister’s initials, T and E.

The central bank, said Republican People’s Party deputy leader Faik Oztrak, “has given the most beautiful present to the prime minister who at every opportunity displays the yearning to be a padishah [emperor]”.

The secular party often accuses Mr Erdogan and his conservative AK Party of harbouring neo-Ottoman ambitions.