Turkish contestant fails to answer ‘where is Great Wall of China?’

ISTANBUL

A Turkish TV contestant has become the laughing stock after failing to answer a question on the location of the Great Wall of China.

Twenty-six-year-old Su Ayhan, an economics graduate from Istanbul, appeared on the show Who Wants to Be Millionaire Turkish edition on private broadcaster ATV on Aug. 4.

“Where is the Wall of China?” was the fourth question Ayhan was asked, as the presenter named the ancient structure in Turkish on the popular contest.

“I know the answer but I’d like to ask the audience,” Ayhan said, using her first lifeline.

Ironically, only 51 percent of audience members suggested the correct answer, while the rest picked the other options of India, South Korea, and Japan.

Disappointed by the lack of consensus among the audience, Ayhan used her second lifeline and phoned a friend, who gave the correct answer and saved her from an embarrassing elimination.

“What kind of education system do you have in Turkey,” a Beijing-based Twitter account sharing Turkish news on China asked after the episode was broadcast.

“I hope many people in the audience failed to answer the question thinking it was too easy to be asked, setting a trap. Otherwise, this huge ignorance problem cannot be solved, even with our new Education Minister Ziya Selçuk,” daily Hürriyet columnist Ahmet Hakan wrote on Aug. 6.

"I could use my lifelines whenever I wanted," Ayhan responded to criticism.

She was eliminated in the following question about the composer of a popular Turkish song. 

A Turkish scholar of Greek literature, who had a post-doc at Harvard, was also recently blasted on social media for being eliminated on the same contest with another question that was “too easy.”

On an episode in May, 38-year-old Erman Gören was asked what Turkish teachers mean when telling their students to “be like flowers.”

As it is well-known by many people who have studied at a Turkish primary school, the correct answer had been “to cross your arms and be quiet,” but the overconfident contestant had said it meant “to stay on one’s feet.”