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Turkish Airlines Builds World’s Tallest Sand Castle

Audrey Armitage
/
For WLRN

Turkish Airlines unveiled its successful attempt to break the world record for tallest sand castle Monday at Historic Virginia Key Beach. The event was intended to promote the start of Turkish Airlines’ direct flight service from Miami to Istanbul, which began Sunday.

Turkish Airlines Chairman Ilker Ayci said the project reflects the optimism and success he sees in Miami, and “shows the innovative capacity and creative capacity of the people.”

A team of 19 sculptors built the 1,800-ton sand castle over two weeks, resulting in a massive sand structure depicting world-famous landmarks.

To beat the previous record-holders, the sand castle needed to be more than 41 feet tall. After carefully examining the castle, Guinness World Records adjudicator Phillip Robertson declared the effort a victory.

In addition to breaking a world record, Ayci described the new airline route as “a historic moment for relations between the U.S. and Turkey, as Turkish Airlines has not offered direct flights from Istanbul to Miami since 2001. Willy Gort, the Miami Commission chairman, also attended the event and praised the new flight service as a “bridge between Miami and the rest of the world.”

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