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:
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'Peace And Brotherhood' -- Turkey
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 <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110426/wl_afp/turkeyarmeniaartdiplomacy" target="_hplink">reporting</a>. (Photo: Getty)
Kim Il-Sung -- North Korea
A bronze statue of former North Korean president Kim Il-Sung is the centerpiece of the Mansudae Grand Monument in Pyongyang. (Photo: Getty)
Victory Arch -- Iraq
Also referred to as the "Swords of Qādisīyah," the "Arc of Triumph," and the "Hands of Victory" in some Western sources, this pair of triumphal arches were constructed in Baghdad 1989 to commemorate then-President Saddam Hussein's declaration of victory over Iran in the Iran-Iraq war, and was<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/06/world/middleeast/06iraq.html" target="_hplink"> deemed</a> by the <em>New York Times </em>as one of the "most audacious symbols...of Hussein's long, violent and oppressive rule."
Peter the Great -- Russia
Moscow's (in)famous Peter the Great statue was designed to commemorate 300 years of the Russian navy. The eighth tallest statue in the world, it was voted the tenth ugliest building in the world in 2008, and included in <em>Foreign Policy</em>'s<a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/04/05/the_world_s_ugliest_statues?page=0,3" target="_hplink"> list</a> of the world's ugliest statues two years later -- perhaps one of the reasons St. Petersburg is said to have refused Moscow's offer to relocate the statue there. (Photo: Getty)
'Tear Of Grief' Sculpture -- Bayonne, NJ
The "Tear Of Grief" or "Teardrop" monument, dedicated to the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and "the struggle against world terrorism," was unveiled in Bayonne, NJ in 2006 as a gift from Russia. Though the monument was intended for a Jersey City location, city officials rejected it once they actually saw it; one 9/11 survivor even likened it to "a cross between a scar and a female sexual organ," <a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/04/05/the_world_s_ugliest_statues?page=0,4" target="_hplink">according</a> to <em>Foreign Policy</em>. (Photo: Getty)
Michael Jackson -- England
It's doubtful the King of Pop would've been honored by this heinous tribute, commissioned by Mohamed Al Fayed (pictured) for the Craven College Stadium in England. Still, Al Fayed has <a href="a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12950708" target="_hplink"http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12950708/a" target="_hplink">reportedly</a> told critics they can "go to hell" if they don't like the statue, according to the BBC. (Photo: Getty)
Rocky Balboa -- Serbia
A statue of Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa was erected in Zitiste, 60 kilometers (36 miles) north of Belgrade, in 2007 as a <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/film/story/2007/08/20/rocky-statue-serbia.html?ref=rss" target="_hplink">reported </a>effort to give the village "a more positive image." (Photo: Getty)
'Patient Zero' -- Mexico
Five-year-old Edgar Hernandez, better known as Mexico's "Patient Zero" after becoming the first known person to contract the H1N1 virus (or "swine flu"), was <a href="http://vivirlatino.com/2009/05/27/swine-flu-patient-zero-immortalized-in-a-statue.php" target="_hplink">recognized</a> in his poor village of La Gloria with a small statue based on Brussel's "Manneken Pis." (Photo: Getty)
Yury Gagarin -- Russia
This statue of Soviet cosmonaut Yury Gagarin is currently displayed at the All-Russian Exhibition Center (VVTs) in Moscow. But the statue -- a replica of the Gagarin monument in in Lyubertsy, a city in Moscow's southern outskirts -- is due to move to London July 14 as part of celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the first manned flight into space, <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1369062/First-man-space-Yuri-Gagarin-commemorated-London-statue-50-years-on.html" target="_hplink">according</a> to the <em>Daily Mail</em>. (Photo: Getty)
Johnny Depp -- Serbia
A life-size statue of the Oscar-nominated actor is <a href="http://www.rferl.org/content/Depp_Gets_Statue_In_Serbia/1929700.html" target="_hplink">featured</a> in the western Serbian mountain settlement Drvengrad, Mokra Gora and was unveiled to coincide with the opening of the a local film and music festival. (Photo: Getty)
Frank Zappa -- Lithuania
In 1995, a bust of the legendary musician was <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/music/story/2010/09/20/zappa-baltimore-bust.html" target="_hplink">unveiled</a> in a public square in Vilnius. The nation later donated a replica of the monument to his hometown of Baltimore. (Photo: Getty)
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First Posted: 04/26/11 07:00 PM ET Updated: 06/26/11 06:12 AM ET