Inside the $200 million ghost town in Türkiye full of abandoned castles
- There are a lot of ghost towns in the world but none are like this
- Situated in northwest Türkiye, the town is called Burj Al Babas
- Planned as a luxury community, it is now nothing more than a ghost town
Published on Aug 06, 2024 at 3:34 PM (UTC+4)
by Nalin Rawat
Last updated on Aug 06, 2024 at 4:09 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
There is a ghost town in northwest Turkey – now Türkiye – full of abandoned castles.
Originally designed to draw foreign vacationers, $200 million was invested in the construction of the town.
However, it’s now one of the biggest ghost towns in the world.
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Turkish ghost town full of abandoned castles
Situated near the small town of Mudurnu in Turkey’s northwest region sits Burj Al Babas.
It is an abandoned town filled with over 500 vacant mini-castles.
Although we have seen many ghost towns, this is by far one of the most intriguing locations of them all.
The town also looks similar to the abandoned castle in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.
Even the architecture of the houses is reminiscent of castles found in Disney parks.
Why was it abandoned?
Currently, the ghost town houses 587 mini castles that sit empty as Burj Al Babas stands as a symbol of the nation’s economic plight.
Construction of the town started in 2014, with an expected completion time of four years.
However, Turkey’s economy fell during that period, and even the developers behind Burj Al Babas went bankrupt.
Locals also protested against the town as they were enraged that the castles strayed from Mudurnu’s traditional Ottoman-style architecture.
This is not particularly a new story as a lot of massive development projects have turned into ghost towns, just like the $100 billion eco-friendly ‘Forest City.’
Other than financial problems, there was also a lawsuit against the developers that claimed the company destroyed nearby trees and harmed the environment.
Eventually, construction of the Burj Al Babas halted and it turned into a ghost town.
Although you can still visit the place, there’s nothing but an eerie abandoned town with lots of mini castles all over the place.
Thankfully, we got a nice look at the town, uploaded to Instagram by photographer, Kristina Makeeva.
Nalin started his career by working with various national newspapers in India. He has also worked as a writer/editor for many popular websites, while still pursuing his journalism and mass communication degree. Working as a digital nomad has allowed him to inform and educate through his work. When he is not writing, you can find him playing video games or travelling the mountains on his bike.
