1,453 trucks in Istanbul attempt to break world record

A total of 1,453 trucks paraded Monday in the construction area of Istanbul's third airport in an attempt to break the Guinness world record for the longest truck procession.

According to the statement made by the IGA (Istanbul Grand Airport) Airport Construction company, the trucks moved at constant speed non-stop for 3.2 kilometers (1.9 miles).

The statement said nearly 3,000 people were on hand for the parade which lasted for an hour and 47 minutes. The preparations took seven hours.

Guinness officials also observed the event. The current record is held by an 2004 parade of 416 trucks in the Netherlands.

Speaking at the event, CEO of IGA Airports Construction, Yusuf Akcayoglu said members of the company had performed a difficult task to mark the 564th anniversary of the conquest of Istanbul.

Akcayoglu said, similar to the conquest, the new airport will start a new age in aviation when its construction is completed.

On May 29, 1453, Sultan Mehmed II conquered Istanbul, then called Constantinople, from where the Byzantines had ruled the Eastern Roman Empire for more than 1,000 years.

The conquest transformed the city, once the heart of the Byzantine realm, into the capital of the new Ottoman Empire.