The Burj Al Babas resort promised high-end European-inspired châteaux and lavish amenities for its well-to-do buyers, but what should have been a dream development soon turned into a nightmare. More than a decade on, the site is still languishing with no hope of rescue.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Let’s explore Türkiye’s eerie abandoned town, where Disney-inspired fairytale mansions sit empty in a sea of construction debris.
Despite the fairytale façades, the story of this decaying settlement doesn’t have a happy ending – at least not yet. Sequestered in the hills of northwestern Türkiye, Burj Al Babas, once the next big thing in luxury housing, is now a thoroughly eerie sight.
The site is located near the historic town of Mudurnu, which is celebrated for its UNESCO-worthy Byzantine and Ottoman architecture. The unusual complex was met with mixed feelings by locals: while Mudurnu’s mayor fully supported the development, others felt the grand, European-inspired mini-châteaux clashed with the traditional aesthetic of the area.
The Sarot Group, the masterminds behind the project, splashed out on an idyllic 250-acre (101ha) site just outside the historic town of Mudurnu in northwestern Türkiye.
Buoyed on by a booming property market, they envisaged a whimsical and romantic spa resort with 732 villas, reportedly inspired by the Château de Chenonceau in France’s Loire Valley (pictured) and Istanbul’s conical Galata Tower.
Construction on the fanciful $200 million (£153m) development began around 2011.