The villas were to become a new paradise for the rich from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, but the plan failed.
At the foot of the mountains in the province of Bolu, hundreds of houses similar in design to Disney castles were built, but then the project faced financial difficulties.
The "castle settlement" project in Turkey failed with a crackle: the company was on the verge of bankruptcy because many clients changed their mind about buying real estate.
The main reason is that instead of elite cottages rich investors from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and other countries in the region saw fancy typical buildings of the same pseudo locks.
In 2014, in Turkey began building a settlement The Burj Al Babas - "luxury" town with villas for wealthy foreigners.
In November 2018, the construction company went bankrupt, and 587 houses were left abandoned.
The total cost of the project was more than 200 million dollars, and each house would cost customers in the amount of 400 to 500 thousand dollars. In a few years, the Sarot Group managed to sell a couple of dozen houses to customers from Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
But soon they gave up the property they had purchased. According to the architect of the complex, this was due to lower oil prices.
Another reason is the general decline in the Turkish economy. By October 2018 inflation reached 25%, the highest level in 15 years. The builders of Burj Al Babas have accumulated debts of 27 million dollars, and they were declared bankrupt.
The houses have remained in the north-west of Turkey: without finishing, windows and infrastructure around the houses. Sarot Group still hopes for the revival of the project. The company wants to appeal the bankrupt status and resume construction in 2019.
Local residents are also dissatisfied with the construction projects: in their opinion, it does not fit the architecture of Mudurnu district, which is characterized by Byzantine buildings, traditional Ottoman wooden houses and an ancient mosque.
But for now, the "Disney castles" remain part of the ghost town.
I never visited Turkey yet,and this abandoned castles seems scary to me.