Turkey's £200m 'Disney castle city' now abandoned has become a hotspot for dark tourism

The project fell apart when Turkey faced some tough financial times.

Imagine living in a city filled with fairytale castles. That was the dream behind Turkey’s Burj Al Babas development, a truly unique idea.

The project cost around £150 million to create, but today it stands abandoned. It was originally designed as a luxury getaway, featuring hundreds of small palace-like homes.

The development ground to a halt when Turkey’s economy hit financial difficulties. Now, nearly 600 finished castles stand empty, creating an eerie ghost town.

Construction on Burj Al Babas started in 2014. The plan was to build over 700 luxurious homes aimed at wealthy buyers, especially from the Middle East.

Each home was designed to include high-end features like private pools, jacuzzis, and underfloor heating.

Prices for the properties went as high as £440,000 ($542,000). The town was also planned to include a shopping mall, restaurants, spas, and even a golf course.

Unfortunately, financial troubles forced the developer, Sarot Group, to go bankrupt, stopping the project and leaving the town incomplete.

Although unfinished and now overgrown, Burj Al Babas has attracted curious tourists and social media influencers, and it’s even been used as a backdrop for music videos.

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