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Inside creepy abandoned 'Disney' ghost town where no one has ever lived

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Published 16:17 26 Apr 2024 GMT+1

Inside creepy abandoned 'Disney' ghost town where no one has ever lived

Burj Al Babas, in Turkey, was left abandoned after developers went bankrupt in 2019

Lucy Devine

Lucy Devine

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An abandoned town that looks like something out of a Disney movie gone wrong has been left empty after the building firm went bust.

The mansions - that look like they've come straight out of the likes of Tangled or Cinderella - are located in Turkey's northwestern Bolu region.

The mansions are located in Turkey's northwestern Bolu region (ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)
The mansions are located in Turkey's northwestern Bolu region (ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

The town - Burj Al Babas - was created across 250 acres and cost an enormous £160million.

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There were plans to include a shopping centre, a waterpark, complete with slides and streams, as well as indoor pools, baths and saunas.

And if it wasn't for the eery silence, the properties would be breathtaking, featuring fairytale-style rooftops and balconies with views of the sea.

The town - Burj Al Babas - was created across 250 acres and cost a gigantic £160million (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
The town - Burj Al Babas - was created across 250 acres and cost a gigantic £160million (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

While the building work started back in 2014, only 60 per cent of the houses were built before the money ran out.

Overlooking lush forest, the luxury homes were on sale for between $370,000 (£275,574) and $530,000 (£394,741), with the team behind the project initially hoping it would be completed in around four years.

However, by 2018, sales started to drop and the developers behind the complex were declared bankrupt before it had been completed, meaning that around 530 partially built homes are now left on the land.

The developers declared bankruptcy (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
The developers declared bankruptcy (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Speaking in 2018, Mehmet Emin Yerdelen, chairman of Sarot Properties Group, said the collapse of the project was due to people refusing to pay up for the homes they'd bought.

He told Hurriyet Daily News: "We couldn't get about $7.5 million (£5,585,662) receivables for the villas we have sold to Gulf countries.

"We applied for bankruptcy protection but the court ruled for bankruptcy. We will appeal the ruling."

The town is totally empty (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
The town is totally empty (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

And he seemed hopeful that the bankruptcy wasn't the end of the complex, adding: "The total value of the project is about $200 million.

"We still have 250 villas completed and ready to go on sale. Selling only 100 of them would be enough to pay off the debts and complete the project.

"We think that we will overcome the crisis in four or five months. We have been planning to open the premises partly in 2019."

The town sometimes has visits from tourists (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
The town sometimes has visits from tourists (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Unfortunately, the town is still sitting pretty much empty with the properties abandoned and remains of building works scattered across the site.

The only visitors are tourists who come to marvel at the abandoned plot.

LADbible has reached out to Sarot properties Group for an update on the town.

Featured Image Credit: Chris McGrath/Getty

Topics: Disney, World News, Money, Business, Weird, Travel

Lucy Devine
Lucy Devine

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