Why are there abandoned Disney castles in Turkey?

Located near the Black Sea, the town of Burj Al Babas in Turkey was once meant to be a luxurious development. However, with the economic collapse in the country, the once-thriving project became abandoned. From afar, the castles look like something out of a Disney movie with 587 half-finished mini castles.



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The "abandoned Disney castles" in Turkey are part of a failed luxury housing project known as Burj Al Babas, located near the town of Mudurnu in the Bolu province. Launched in 2014 by the Sarot Group, the project aimed to build 732 identical villas designed to look like miniature French chateaus—resembling the iconic Disney castle—targeting wealthy investors from the Gulf region. The development was meant to include a massive shopping center, Turkish baths, and health facilities. However, by 2018, the project collapsed due to a combination of falling oil prices affecting the buyers' wealth, a downturn in the Turkish economy, and significant local opposition regarding the project's impact on the historic architecture of the region. The developers eventually filed for bankruptcy, leaving 587 of the castles in various stages of completion. Today, the site has become a viral "ghost town" and a symbol of real estate hubris. As of 2026, the area remains a surreal landscape of hundreds of empty, identical grey-roofed castles standing in silent, overgrown rows, though there have been occasional legal battles and rumors of new investors attempting to revive or repurpose the eerie development.

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