Metal mettle

It may not be possible for many to visit Turkey and take in the splendour of its many monuments, but a visit to a Turkish stall at the international pavilion in Qurum Natural Park can provide a glimpse of how inspiring the country's historical sites are. The sculptures made by Ersoy Abut are unique as he uses copper pipes to shape his beautiful creations.

An air conditioner technician and owner of an AC enterprise, Abut has been using copper pipes in his business for years but he discovered his artistic streak only two years ago.

He said, “I injured myself in the AC workshop and had to take a back seat in the business. Seeing copper pipes moulded into different shapes for use in air conditioners gave me the idea to give the pipes a better form so that they could be appreciated by people. And since then there has been no looking back.”

By his own admission, Abut is self taught. His replica of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, better known as the Blue Mosque, weighs 80kg and took him 14 months to put it together.

Although his other creations at the stall are on sale, Abut has not put a price on the Blue Mosque replica. “I want to set up a museum of my works. It's has only been two years since I started, and there are hundreds of monuments I want to replicate.”

Sitting engrossed, twisting and turning copper pipes at his stall, Abut is busy preparing something for the Omani people. “I have started work on building the famous Al Ilam Palace of Muttrah. The process is also on to construct the Taj Mahal and the famous symbol of the Ottoman empire - the Hagia Sophia.”

He also has plans to replicate the Holy Kaba and the Red Square of Moscow.

At his stall, he has other famous Turkish monuments, like Selimiye Mosque, Galata Tower, Kastamonu Clock Tower, all made painstakingly by gas- welding copper pipes of different shapes and sizes together. 

“Before I start, I take a lot of pictures of the actual site and then design my miniature to be in sync with the original proportions of the building,” he said.

As his art is unique, it comes at a price. The Selimiye Mosque replica has a tag of RO4,000, Galata Tower RO1,500 and Kastamonu Clock Tower RO850.

But with such a big price tag, would he get any customers? “It's the result of my hard work, I won't mind putting them up in the museum that I plan to set up. Although, I would appreciate if people come forward to buy my creations.”