Angel mural resembling Turkish president’s face is coincidental: report says

ISTANBUL

DHA Photos

An investigation launched to clarify a citizen’s claim that an angel mural in Sümela Monastery appeared to have the likeness of President Abdullah Gül revealed that murals in the monastery had not been touched since the 17th Century, daily Hürriyet has reported.
 
A citizen, who recently visited the monastery in the Black Sea province of Trabzon's Maçka district with his wife, noticed the similarity of the mural to Gül and took a photo of it. Gül was subsequently informed of the matter by a letter and an investigation followed.
 
However, murals in Sümela Monastery have not been touched even during restoration works and the citizen’s perception that an angel mural bore a likening to the Turkish president was merely coincidental, officials said after the investigation was completed by archaeologists.

The citizen was reportedly not the only person who thought the mural resembled the president. European Union ambassadors who visited the monastery in 2009 were also surprised after seeing the mural, believing it resembled the president, reports said.