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Turkey-Armenia Friendship Statue Dismantled: A Look At The World's Ugliest Monuments (PHOTOS)

First Posted: 04-26-11 06:00 PM   |   Updated: 04-26-11 10:50 PM

Turkey's 100-foot "Peace and Brotherhood" monument might have been intended as a symbol of friendship with neighboring Armenia when it was erected in Kars in 2006. But one person who didn't see it that way was Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who panned the sculpture as "a monstrosity" and "weird" while bemoaning its location near an 11th century Islamic shrine.

As the BBC is reporting, the Turkish premier is getting his way, as demolition crews overrode widespread protests and began dismantling the sculpture on Tuesday. The entire process is expected to last 10 days. Still, as the Wall Street Journal reports, the statue's impact may live on as an unlikely icon in Turkey's election campaign.

There's no telling what Erdogan might have done if artists had decided to erect an effigy of Peter the Great, Michael Jackson or even Sylvester Stallone as Rocky -- all of which exist in spectacularly over-the-top glory elsewhere in the world -- in his country.

Check out some of the world's ugliest statues here, and let us know which "monstrosities" we might have overlooked:

'Peace And Brotherhood' -- Turkey
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Turkey began demolishing the 100-feet "Peace And Brotherhood" monument near its eastern border after the prime minister slammed it a "monstrosity." The entire demolition process of the statue -- dedicated to friendship with neighboring Armenia -- is expected to take about 10 days, although sculptor Mehmet Aksoy is said to have vowed to re-build it elsewhere, the AFP is reporting.
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DanWJ said on 27 Wednesday 2011 am30 7:01 am:
That would be the Dan Quayle museum, unless, of course, he spelled it himself ;)
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Turkey's 100-foot "Peace and Brotherhood" monument might have been intended as a symbol of friendship with neighboring Armenia when it was erected in Kars in 2006. But one person who didn't see it tha...
Turkey's 100-foot "Peace and Brotherhood" monument might have been intended as a symbol of friendship with neighboring Armenia when it was erected in Kars in 2006. But one person who didn't see it tha...
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jmdziuban1
ne'er-do-not-so-well
11:06 AM on 5/07/2011
A group has raised $50,000 to erect a Robocop statue in Detroit, do not ask me why.
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Hannah F
12:45 AM on 5/02/2011
Oh! There's also a giant sheet metal vagina in Québec.
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Hannah F
12:41 AM on 5/02/2011
What, no Dutch buttplug-b­earing gnome?
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roshni
07:06 PM on 5/01/2011
A number of "gloria" buildings in Spain built during the Franco regime are absolute monstrosit­ies.
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Sargoth
01:58 PM on 5/01/2011
http://en.­wikipedia.­org/wiki/K­ing_of_Kin­gs_(statue)

Check out that for a truly ugly monument. I had the pleasure of driving past it several times on I-75. The thing is just scary looking. It's like some horrible zombie Jesus bursting out of the ground.
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
Caru
Politics is fun to watch.
11:00 AM on 5/01/2011
Pure propaganda­, both many of the monuments and this article.
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Atheissimo
10:44 AM on 5/01/2011
The Michael Jackson statue at Craven Cottage (not Craven College) probably deserves a bit more explanatio­n.

Al Fayed (owner of famous London store Harrods, father of Dodi Al Fayed) owns Fulham Football Club, the tenants of Craven Cottage stadium. He had this statue erected of his hero Michael Jackson despite the protests of fans who, probably rightly, believe that the singer is of no relevance to the club.

It's also hideous.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Noisyguy
08:34 PM on 4/30/2011
The statue of cosmonaut Yury Gagarin is great! I'd be happy to have it in my town! Go Yury...!!!
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bshum3
03:37 PM on 4/30/2011
The Mexican Statue of the little boy was not ugly . I found it touching
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roshni
07:05 PM on 5/01/2011
Me too.
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Thremnir
12:26 PM on 4/30/2011
Other's may hate the "Peter the Great" statue, commemorat­ing 300 years of Russian
navy, but I kinda dig it.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Edward Standley
opinionated jerk
11:17 AM on 4/30/2011
"Frank Zappa"- Terrific. Very strong rendering (I'm a big fan anyway)
"Iraq Victory Arch"- The NYT calls it an "audacious symbol of Hussein's violence"? Are they aware we armed both sides in the Iran/Iraq war?
"Tear of Grief"- Yep, I'm seein' it too.
"Patient Zero"- It's a little child who died of disease. How can it be "ugly"?
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plzgetreal
10:45 AM on 4/30/2011
Oh man, how could you not include the Praying Hands at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa? I always felt that one should be outstretch­ed it signify his philosophy of paying to get to heaven.
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roshni
07:05 PM on 5/01/2011
Fanned and faved.
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PatrickforO
If you can't convince them, confuse them!
01:00 AM on 4/30/2011
That tear of grief really does look like a vagina. Interestin­g, but very bad taste. Hey, remember the old Starkist tuna commercial­s with Charlie the cartoon tuna. Sorry Charlie. Starkist doesn't want tunas with good taste; Starkist wants tunas that taste good!
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sdmartintc
12:36 AM on 4/30/2011
I know that the leviathan Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest, Romania is a building, but its massive size and architectu­ral ugliness might as well be a monument to the immense stupidity and despotic rule of Nicolae Ceausescu.
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
moonflowerjewelry
you're kidding, right?
09:38 PM on 4/29/2011
I seriously don't know what to think... Frank Zappa? Lithuania? Mind boggling.
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mikeberns
02:29 AM on 4/30/2011
I believe Zappa is quite popular in many former Soviet-blo­c countries. Remember: soon after taking power in the Czech Republic, Havel asked Zappa "to serve as consultant for the government on trade, cultural matters and tourism." The USGOV put pressure on the nascent Havel government and he subsequent­ly backed down.
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