Turkey offers to host Musk-Zuckerberg fight at Ancient Greek city Aspendos

Turkey has offered to host the much-lauded fight between tech giants Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk at the Ancient Greek City of Aspendos.

An official from the Turkish Hoteliers Federation (TÜROFED) has thrown down the gauntlet, proposing the two business magnates face each other in the historic Greek city.

Murat Toktaş, the vice president of TÜROFED and the chairperson of the Black Sea Tourism Operators Association, on Tuesday, offered Meta CEO Zuckerberg and Musk, the owner of the X platform formerly known as Twitter, to stage their ring fight in the famed historic site in T’s Attaleia (Ἀττάλεια, Turkish: Antalya).

"As tourism industry representatives, we think that the most suitable venue for this fight will be Aspendos, which is famous for its ancient beauty," Toktaş said.

Questions remain about whether or where the cage fight will occur as a digital duel rages between the two.

Earlier this month, Tesla boss Musk said his planned cage fight with billionaire rival Zuckerberg would be held at an "epic location" with an ancient Roman theme, as Italy indicated it was ready to stage the scrap.

Italy's Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano said in a statement that he had spoken to Musk about hosting a "large charitable and historically evocative event."

Zuckerberg has claimed that Musk is not serious about holding a "cage fight."

In a post on Threads, a digital social media platform launched on July 5 as a competitor to X, Zuckerberg said he offered Musk "a real date" for the fight.

"We can all agree Elon isn't serious, and it's time to move on. I offered a real date ... Elon won't confirm a date, then he says he needs surgery, and now asks for a practice round in my backyard instead," he said Sunday.

In response, Musk retorted on the X platform, calling Zuckerberg a "chicken."

Posting Tuesday on the same platform, Musk cited a "fight recap," stating: "I joked on X about fighting Zuck. Zuck then said, 'SEND ME LOCATION.' Italy graciously offered a Colosseum, but Zuck declined. I suggested his home as a 'safe space.' Tragically, he was, ahem, 'travelling.' Is there anywhere he will fight?"

Aspendos is known for having the best-preserved theatre of antiquity. With a diameter of 96 metres, it provided seating for 7,000. It was built in 155 by the Greek architect Zenon, a native of the city.

READ MORE: Archaeological Expedition Uncovers Ancient Synagogue in the Black Sea Region.