???? Burj Al Babas was a luxury residential project, with hundreds of villas built in the style of French palaces (neo-Gothic) in Turkey. Burj Al Babas is located near the town of Mudurnu, in the Bolu province, which is located in the northwest of the country, approximately halfway between Istanbul and Ankara (Turkey). Each house has small towers like in fairy tales and was built to sell to wealthy clients from the Gulf countries, especially from Qatar and the Emirates.
???? Failed
1. The economic crisis in Turkey around 2018 led to inflation and a sharp decline in the Turkish lira.
2. The construction company Sarot Group declared bankruptcy, failing to complete the houses or sell them as planned.
3. The idea itself was out of touch with local reality – building 732 luxury villas in a mountainous area, far from metropolises, was economically and socially unsound.
???? Today
• The city is completely abandoned.
• Over 500 small towers that look like they're from "Disney" are half-built, ruined by time, and without any inhabitants.
• It has become an attraction for photographers, adventurers and "dark tourism" tourists.
???? “Disneyland destroyed”
Because visually it looks like a fairy tale dream turned nightmare – endless rows of identical villas, with gray domes and elegant balconies, now empty and lifeless. People compare it to a dystopian version of Disneyland or an alien colony that suddenly disappeared.
???? A great lesson
Burj Al Babas has become a global example for:
• urban failures and projects without realistic vision.
• wild capitalism that pursues luxury instead of necessity.
• and the fact that architecture without a soul does not last long – even if it has fairy-tale domes.
