A resort reportedly valued at £157million ($200m) that hoped to host wealthy holidaymakers has become one of the destinations topping the “dark tourism” lists.
Burj Al Babas is a residential development near Mudurnu, in the Black Sea region of Turkey, started in 2014.
The peculiar resort was meant to feature more than 700 three-storey villas shaped like mini castles with Gothic elements reminiscent of the architecture dominating Europe during the Middle Ages.
The houses were put on sale for between £291,000 and £417,000 and, while they were all identical on the outside, buyers could choose between three different layouts and decor for the inside of their properties – including installing an elevator, bathrooms on each floor and an indoor pool.
These mansions, each with a garden, were meant to be placed near a domed structure containing a shopping centre and leisure facilities such as Turkish baths open to residents.
Another appealing feature of the area would be the region’s hot springs, where the water reaching 68C is believed to have healing properties.
Despite the many attractive details of these properties, today they stand unfinished and abandoned, creating an eery atmosphere perfect for thrill-seeking tourists.
The developer – Sarot Group, run by the Yerdelen brothers and their partner, Bulent Yilmaz – hired some 2,500 workers hoping to finish the resort in four years, by 2018.
The group initially saw a massive interest in the resort, with around half of the castles being sold in advance.
But in 2018, as the Turkish economy was taking a turn for the worse, sales started to stall and in November of that year Sarot Group was slapped with a court-ordered bankruptcy ruling.
Today, the area where Burj Al Babas was meant to thrive is dotted with mini castles with grey roofs, patchy landscaping and no residents.
