A New York man is setting up his own sovereign nation in the state of Utah, and has decided to name it the Republic of Zaquistan.
Zaq Landberg, who created Zaquistan, bought the four-acre patch of land on eBay for a mere $610 (£399). Zaq has created the nations own unique yellow and red flag, passports, and a border patrol gate guarded by a giant robot.
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Sky News reports:
At one stage – for three weeks – it even held its first embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, hosted inside a contemporary art museum.
Mr Landsberg, who is President of Zaqistan, said he was amazed at how remote the area was after buying the brush-covered stretch of desert in 2005.
He told KSL-TV: “The conceptual goal is I want it to become a real country.
“I mean, that goal is not going to happen. It’s impossible, but going through the motions, (I’m) trying to make that happen.”
Visitors to Zaqistan, which is 60 miles from the nearest town, 15 miles from any paved road and a two-mile hike from the nearest dirt road, can purchase official passports costing $40, which will even be stamped as you leave the area.
Mr Landsberg pays property taxes to Box Elder County, which he refers to as tributes, and says his art project is aimed at seeing how far he can push the boundaries of land ownership and sovereignty.
He told the TV station: “My goal is to, like, probe those little areas. To try and find what that does mean.
“Zaqistan works the best, I think, when it’s wedged up against the real world, and when the passports circulate.
“Out here, it’s not that crazy of an idea to have your own little spot, and to do your own thing and to have your own space and the privacy to do that.”
Zaqistan lists water as its main import and has an unofficial motto which reads: “Something from nothing”.
