Byzantine fortress turned into 'Sponge Bob'

Restoration work on a Byzantine-era fortress in the Black Sea town of Sile has become the butt of jokes on social media, with Twitter users comparing the new version of the building to the famed cartoon character Sponge Bob Square Pants.

The Byzantine-era fortress in the Black Sea town of Sile 
before and after 'restoration' [Credit: Todays Zaman]

Although the Sile Municipality updated its official website on Sept. 26, 2013 with news of the fortress' restoration, the structure has garnered much recent attention in the Twitter-sphere. In addition to likening the monument to the silly cartoon character, many users called the restoration of the priceless structure tasteless and characterized the building as looking surprised.

Twitter handle @Reakingjunkie wrote: �Magnificent. They have restored the Sile fortress and recreated it as Sponge Bob. I tip my hat to such aesthetic taste.� Meanwhile, @canhipster quipped, �Even the fortress couldn't believe its own restoration.� Many others on Twitter shared separate pictures of the actual yellow cartoon character and the renovated fortress next to each other.

The 12-meter tall fortress, which sits on a cliff overlooking the sea, was strategically built to withstand potential attacks from the sea. According to some records, the fortress was built during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos.

Source: Todays Zaman [August 26, 2015]