Here we have another example of excessive construction that collapsed like a house of cards. Or, more properly, like a Disney castle. Hundreds of them turned into a ghost town.
On the outskirts of the city of Mudurnu, in Turkey, stands the ghost town of Burj Al Babas. Hundreds of abandoned luxury residences reminiscent of Disney castles. A dream of two builder brothers, which exploded in their faces.
In times of economic prosperity, construction companies come up, and devise projects beyond their means.
In 2014, the Yerdelen brothers, owners of the Turkish construction company Sarot Property Group, launched the Burj Al Babas project: 732 Renaissance-style villas reminiscent of the Disney castles, destined for the rich of the Middle East, who came to spend the summer in Turkey. But something went wrong.
The ghost town of Burj Al Babas
The residences had all kinds of luxuries. From underfloor heating to a jacuzzi on all floors, as well as an indoor pool, an elevator, and a large garden. They cost around 450,000 euros. The complex also included three lakes, a shopping mall, a mosque, and a golf course.
Sarot Property Group sold 350 of these luxury villas in advance, so it began construction on hundreds of them in 2014, with 2,500 masons working for four years.
But then what usually happens in these cases happened. Türkiye suffered a severe economic crisis, and the country’s currency plummeted. The construction company could not pay its creditors, and declared bankruptcy, after investing 200 million euros in the Burj Al Babas project.
Construction came to a screeching halt, with hundreds of Disney-style castles all but completed. Now they have become a ghost town, as you can see in this video:
The construction company made a new attempt to resume the project in 2019… but then Covid and the lockdowns appeared, forcing the project to be halted again.
for now Burj Al Babas continues to stand still, with hundreds of increasingly dilapidated Disney-style castles. This ghost town will likely never be inhabited. One more example of the excesses of construction, which we have also seen in Spain.