The eerie tale of Turkey’s abandoned Disney-inspired ghost town Burj Al Babas

The supposed happiest place (town) on Earth did not get its own happily ever after.

In the picturesque region of northwestern Turkey lies a haunting ghost town that was meant to be a fairy tale come true. Burj Al Babas, a lavish development inspired by Disney’s iconic architecture, now stands abandoned and unfinished, eerily towering near the coast of the Black Sea.

The supposed dreamland was going to be a luxury retreat on a 101ha site in the Roman spa town of Mudurnu.

The developer, Sarot Properties Group, poured a staggering £160 million ($307 million) into the project, hoping to attract affluent buyers from the Middle East with the picturesque and magical look of the town, offering European-style mansions, an in-town water park, indoor swimming pools, Turkish baths, saunas, and steam rooms.

Developers faced bankruptcy and public backlash, leaving 350 mansions abandoned. Photo / Getty Images

Now, the Burj Al Babas sits in isolation as luxurious greyish-white Disney-like mansions were left empty and unlivable after builders were found bankrupted even before the construction of the promised paradise was finished.

The project started in 2014 with a plan to build 732 houses, but after accumulating a massive debt of £21 million, the builders left the town and all of the 350 mansions that have been finished.

Apart from the bankruptcy, the developers were also scrutinised because of illegal deforestation, facing legal actions from local residents.

The streets of Burj Al Babas remain empty, with unfinished castles and scattered building materials serving as eerie reminders of a dream that never materialised.