Şahan Gökbakar responds to illegal villa allegations: 'The house does not belong to me'

It had recently come to light that a house located in Marmaris Delikyol Bay, which was allegedly purchased by Şahan Gökbakar in 2018, was illegal and that a demolition order had been served by the municipality. Regarding the issue, Fatih Altaylı had stated, "I have passed by it a few times. Şahan is in the wrong. Even the most oppositional and upright person in the Turkish nation loses their sense of judgment when it comes to real estate and profit. It is a place like paradise; I think he bought it for 10 million. There shouldn't be a big house there anyway. As you grow your family, we are not obligated to watch you expand your land."

'TROLLS ARE WRITING THINGS'

Following the rapidly growing debate on social media, the first statement came from Şahan Gökbakar. Making a statement on his Instagram account, Gökbakar said, "I felt the need to say something about the news that has been circulating about me for a few days. I wasn't going to say anything normally, but the same news has been pumped for three days, trolls are writing things, and a fake agenda is being created. It is very clear that it serves a specific purpose. I don't know if they are trying to create pressure somewhere, but the same tactic has been applied lately. That's why I don't feel the need to make much of a statement about this issue. Until this morning, when I saw Fatih Altaylı, whose opinions I trust, talking back and forth about me without knowing the facts. I would have liked him to practice more serious journalism. He could have called and asked me, for example, but he didn't; he chose this path. So be it. Still, it was the reason for me to film this video. Friends, everything started with this news, I am putting it here, the news titled 'The illegal sitcom house of sitcom actor Şahan'. A special report that is extremely humorous and highly witty. A file. A special report because it is so investigative. And there is a lyrical narrative here: 'A demolition order was issued for the illegal villa built on a protected site by massacring fragrant pine trees. The mask of the fake environmentalist has fallen.'"

'THE HOUSE DOES NOT BELONG TO ME'

Stating that the house for which the demolition order was issued does not belong to him, but rather to his neighbor, Gökbakar said the following:

"First of all, the house in the photo used by everyone who took and used this news does not belong to me, and this construction does not belong to me. These are our neighbor's house. It does not belong to me. Stop using our neighbor's house in news about me. My house is a single-story, 80-square-meter village house on the parcel two doors down. If you are doing a special report, bother to go and film my house, or if you are too lazy, fly a drone. The house is physically standing there anyway. These are for perception, not for news. If you are reporting news, don't be lazy, go and film it. I don't have a two-story house as shown in the pictures."

'I CAN LIVE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD I WANT'

Explaining the process of purchasing the land, Gökbakar said, "Let's come to the second point. I already bought an existing house and a pier. In 2020, I found the house in an ad on a real estate website, I contacted the owner, and the owner was selling the house and the pier with a building registration certificate. I thought, 'it has a building registration,' and it had inspired confidence at the time; after all, it is a document given by the state. I did the necessary checks, made inquiries at the municipality, went to the land registry, everything was clean, and I thought about buying it. I bought it because it was a place where we could rest our heads, a place with no access by small car. If I had a concern about having a mansion, thank God I have the means; I can buy a mansion by the sea anywhere in the world. I have such an opportunity. Why would I go and cut down pine trees in Marmaris and have an illegal villa built on a protected site? To be able to do this, one must either be a complete idiot or be trusting someone. And I am not that kind of person. You have lost your minds. We didn't do any additional construction or anything. Go look on Google, look at 7 years before I bought it. Why are you doing such things? What do you want, friends?"

'THE LEGAL PROCESS IS ONGOING'

Stating that the lawsuit regarding the land is ongoing, Gökbakar said, "Dear friends, we bought it so we could rest our heads, but unfortunately it wasn't meant to be. Fires broke out, and after those fires, everything changed. In 2022, the building registration certificate of the house was suddenly canceled, and an annotation was placed on the land registry stating it was a protected site. Two years after I bought it, it was written on it, 'This house should be demolished.' We filed a lawsuit against this decision. The legal process is ongoing. The situation is this clear and real. So, I am not the person you are trying to portray there or the person you are trying to show me as, and because I am not such a person, this evil you are doing does not harm me. I think even the people in your target audience don't believe this, but I see that even people with a sound mind can fall for this trap."

Stating that everything necessary will be done, Gökbakar ended his speech with the words, "It's a shame, it's a shame. We will respect whatever the judiciary decides."