There's a $200 million abandoned village of Disney-like castles in Turkey. Take a look inside. - Creak News

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There's a $200 million abandoned village of Disney-like castles in Turkey. Take a look inside.

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Burj Al Babas Adem Altan/AFP/Getty Images

  • The Burj Al Babas in Turkey was designed as a luxury community for foreign buyers. 
  • Its developers intended for local hot springs to heat each home, claiming that the water has healing properties
  • As Turkey experiences an economic downturn, the project's developers have filed for bankruptcy protection, and buyers have backed out of their purchases.
  • The nation's castle-like homes now sit empty in the northwestern region. 

From far away, the Burj Al Babas could be confused for a diorama of miniature villas. The homes all look the same, their blue-grey steeples and Gothic fixtures calling to mind the castles in Disney films. 

When the project first began in 2014, its developer, the Sarot Group, hoped the luxury aesthetic would appeal to wealthy foreign buyers. Now the homes sit empty at the base of Turkey's northwestern mountains. 

Read more: The eeriest abandoned place in every state

Though there's still money left in its $200 million budget, the Sarot Group has already sought bankruptcy protection after buyers failed to come up with the money for the properties. 

The problem isn't unique to Turkey. Around the world, cities, such as New York, Las Vegas, Tokyo, and Burgos, Spain, are riddled with abandoned properties. But none are quite as eerie as the Burj Al Babas' empty villas, which stand as symbols of the nation's economic plight.

Take a look at the ghostly spectacle below. 

The villas are located near the small town of Mudurnu in Turkey's northwestern region.

Adem Altan/AFP/Getty Images

The region's hot springs provide enough water to heat the homes, the Sarot Group's chief executive officer, Mezher Yerdelen, told the New York Times.

"You can drink the waters, and it cures stomach ailments and kidney stones," Yerdelen told the  Times. "If you bathe in it, it heals skin problems, rheumatism, and slipped disks."



Buyers can purchase the homes for $400,000 to $500,000 each — a price tag that caters to a wealthier Middle Eastern clientele.

Adem Altan/AFP/Getty Images

Homeowners can choose from three different layouts. The villas will have a jacuzzi on each level, and residents have the option to install an elevator and indoor pool. 



Of the more than 732 villas, about 350 were sold to Arab investors. Many of the sales have since fallen through.

Adem Altan/AFP/Getty Images

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently offered citizenship to foreigners who own a property worth more than $250,000 for three years. 




See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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