Mystery metal monolith turns out to be Turkish govt gimmick

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A metal monolith that mysteriously appeared and disappeared on a field in southeast Turkey has turned out to be a publicity gimmick ahead of a government event during which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a space program for the country. The three-meter-high (about 10-foot-high) metal slab bearing an ancient Turkic script, was found Friday by a farmer in Sanliurfa province, near a UNESCO World Heritage site. The shiny structure that bore the inscription “Look at the sky, you will see the moon” in the ancient Turkic Gokturk alphabet, was reported gone Tuesday morning, adding to the mystery. An image of the monolith was later projected on a screen as Erdogan presented Turkey’s space program during a televised event.