Istanbul - It appears that not everyone is a fan of the selfie craze.
A statue of an Ottoman prince taking a photo of himself in Turkey was savagely hacked only days after it was erected, depriving the monarch of a crucial gadget for any selfie taker; his mobile phone.
The eccentric statue, intended to attract tourists in Amasya, Northern Turkey, divided opinion as soon as it was unveiled in its river-side location. As well as slicing off the phone, vandals wrenched off the prince’s sword resulting in the statue getting its own police guard to prevent further damage.
Despite being a new addition to the city, the prince had already lured many tourists trying to snap their own selfies with him.
The prince was designed as a nod to Amasya’s history, where Ottoman princes were sent to prepare them for ruling the empire.
In the past these figures went on to be prominent Sultans who included Mehmet II, or Mehmet the Conqueror, who conquered Constantinople, now Istanbul, in 1453.
Officials state that the statue was merely designed as a tourist attraction, and was not intended to belittle the princely tradition.
Daily Mail