SALT LAKE CITY – A New York man is building his own sovereign nation called Zaqistan on a remote piece of land in Utah.
Zaq Landsberg has created a yellow-and-red flag, official-looking passports and a border patrol gate guarded by a giant robot sentry for the realm, KSL-TV reported.
“The conceptual goal is I want it to become a real country,” said Landsberg, its president. “I mean, that goal is not going to happen. It’s impossible, but going through the motions, (I’m) trying to make that happen.”
In this video frame grab taken on June 29, 2013, Zaq Landsberg stands on acres of land in northwestern Box Elder County, Utah. He’s even created a motto for the land of Zaqistan: “Something from nothing.”
When he bought the sage-brush covered stretch of Utah backcountry a decade ago, the city-dwelling Landsberg was amazed at how removed it was. It’s about 60 miles from the nearest town and 15 miles away from a paved road.