Free Republic

In the northwestern Turkish town of Mudurnu, a peculiar and ghostly sight awaits those who venture a few kilometers south...Imagine stumbling upon a town of hundreds of Disney-inspired mini-palaces, complete with turrets and over-the-top glamorous towers. Burj Al Babas was intended to be a luxurious urban development, boasting 732 French-inspired châteaus.However, economic challenges halted construction at 583 homes, leaving the landscape dotted with abandoned castles that were supposed to redefine opulence in the Middle East...Sarot Group, the ambitious project developer, envisioned a community where Mediterranean climate and European aesthetics converged nestled in a massive valley at the base of Turkey’s...

Amid a real estate crisis in Turkey, nearly 1,000 construction companies have gone bankrupt in less than a year. Before the start of the economic downturn, millions of dollars had been pumped into luxury housing projects across the country. In the western Anatolia region lies a stark symbol of this crisis: a ghost town with hundreds of abandoned Renaissance-style villas. Our colleagues from France 2 report, with FRANCE 24's Maud Jullien.