The Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned the Turkish ambassador to Uganda on Saturday after taking pictures of her during the Republic Day celebration wearing a uniform that was reportedly inspired by Greek culture.
The Turkish Ambassador to Uganda, Sadaf Yawzalb, held a reception in Kampala to mark the anniversary of the establishment of the modern Turkish Republic, founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
Pictures of the social networking site "Twitter" were published by the Ugandan parliament, whose president, Rebecca Kadaga, attended the ceremony. Ambassador Yaozaleb, accompanied by a Turkish official, wore a traditional Greek dress.
On Saturday, the Turkish national daily Sozho reported the pictures on her front page. She said that Yaozbal was wearing Helene the Trojan costume, whose beauty sparked the Trojan War, according to the Iliad, and her assistant was wearing the full costume of Zeus with a crown of olive branches.
"It was a scandalous scandal on Republican Day, the ambassador was Helen and her assistant was Zeus," the paper said.
This characterization would anger Turkish nationalists, who insist on asserting the Turkish character of the modern state.
"The launch of urgent investigations after the publication of pictures on a social network and media to our ambassador at the reception."
"In this context, the ambassador was summoned," the foreign ministry statement said, without giving further details.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mouloud Zhaoshoglu announced on Twitter the recall of the Turkish ambassador.
Yozalb belongs to the diplomatic corps and has served as Turkey's ambassador to Kampala for five years.
Yozalb was reportedly promoting the "Trojan Year" to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the inclusion of the city, located near the city of Gnaq Qala in western Turkey, on UNESCO's World Heritage List.
