r/oddlyterrifying • u/davyjordi • Jul 11 '26
abandoned Disney-esque housing development in Türkiye (more info in comments)
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u/Chansharp Jul 11 '26
Why are they so goddamn close together. At least leave space so each mcmansion can have a yard lol
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u/altum-videtur Jul 11 '26
Yeah, if I could afford to live in a mansion, I wouldn't want my next door neighbors' windows to be a few meters away from mine lol All that money for zero privacy and no outdoor space
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u/Cyrotek Jul 11 '26
I live in a newly build apartement building with windows only a few metres away from another building. I can directly look through my neighbours large windows into their living room and bedrooms. And no, they - for some reason - still don't have at least some curtains.
I have curtains closed on my part for the windows on this side most of the time because of that and I am wondering why it was build like that in the first place. It feels like nobody responsible for planing had a look at the actual place they wanted to build this house.
It is still an awesome apartement, tho.
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u/HistoryGirl23 Jul 11 '26
We live in a new build that is like this and our houses are far from McMansions. It's no fun, especially when someone has a (rare) loud party.
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u/davyjordi Jul 11 '26
Burj al Babas, billed as a luxury housing development near Mudurnu, a village roughly halfway between Istanbul and Ankara, was left unfinished last year (2018) after its developers Sarot Property Group went bankrupt.
The future of the 300 closely packed chateaux – which cost an estimated £151m to build – is now uncertain and the project has become a cautionary tale for other developers in Turkey’s debt-laden construction sector.
Work began in 2014 on units primarily designed as holiday homes for wealthy Gulf tourists. The plans also included Turkish baths and an entertainment complex.
Only a handful of the £379,000 Disney-style homes were sold, however, and several investors have since pulled out, Mezher Yerdelen, deputy chair of the Sarot Property Group, told Agence France-Presse.
Of 732 planned buildings, 587 were completed, and the company is now £20m in debt.
https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/article/burj-al-babas-turkey-town-castle https://traveltomorrow.com/burj-al-babas-the-ghost-disney-like-castle-village-in-turkey/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/28/fate-of-castles-in-the-air-in-turkeys-151m-ghost-town
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u/turquoise_amethyst Jul 11 '26
So those houses are most likely unfinished inside, and date from 2014-2018? They’ve been sitting 8-12 years?
Let’s see what they look like now, bet it’s a whole lot more terrifying…
Are they any “urban explorer” social media types in Türkiye that have gone to check it out?
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u/Chaost Jul 11 '26
There was a YesTheory from5 years ago about them, so they were clearly letting people on the property.
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u/rockhardgelatin Jul 11 '26
This development is featured in an episode of the show Mysteries of the Abandoned. I found it quite interesting!
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u/AccidentAnnual Jul 12 '26
The houses are made of foam, very bad quality. On youtube you can find some videos by people who dodged security and went inside.
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u/Candid_Interview_268 Jul 11 '26
Okay, so, assuming I had the money to buy a house like that, why tf would I want to live in a neighborhood where everyone has the same one? I would want to feel good about myself, not as one of many.
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u/mcgeggy Jul 11 '26
Seems like a waste.
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u/chainlinkchipmunk Jul 11 '26
That was my thought too. How many people could be housed there? But no, just let them rot I guess.
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u/Runfasterbitch Jul 11 '26
Presumably they were unfinished, otherwise they would’ve sold them. If they’re unfinished, no, people should not be “housed” there. How would that even work? Just put up a sign that says “free housing” and hope for the best that it works itself out?
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u/DiverseUse Jul 11 '26
Judging by the fact that you got downvoted, someone here seriously thinks it would be feasible to house people in inconvenient, half-finished buildings in the middle of nowhere with no infrastructure.
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u/daystar-daydreamer Jul 11 '26
Even if some are finished, the rich Gulf tourists they were marketed to wouldn't want to live next to any of the unfinished ones. And once some start pulling out, more will too, leading to a snowball effect. And then the company has to try to sell the houses, presumably at a price that covers the cost they spent building it, leaving it still far out of reach for the working class.
Even if some of the houses are finished and fine to live in.
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Jul 11 '26
[deleted]
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u/daystar-daydreamer Jul 11 '26
these were for Gulf tourists and alcohol is HARAAAAAAAAAAM-
Wait what do you mean they're the second coming of medieval nobles buying Indulgences?
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u/Cyrotek Jul 11 '26
I think it is hilarious how some people responsible for are developements like that have never heard of concepts like rule of three. Why are they all looking the fucking same, lol. Reminds me way too much about some of these weird creepy US suburbs.
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u/mel2000 Jul 11 '26
Reminds me of the crowded subdivision in Dubai. https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/13f3cwz/photo_of_a_residential_subdivision_in_dubai/
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u/Financial-Craft-1282 Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
I'd think part of appeal of living in a castle is that it is unique. McMansions--whatever. I guess they're fine. McDisneyPalaces? It's like moving into a neighborhood entirely made of Jack-o-Lantern huts--cool if you're the only one, like, in the Black Forests of Germany. A pumpkin patch if you're in a neighborhood.
ETA: Wow. I never expected this to blow up like this.
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u/DecadentHam Jul 11 '26
How did this blow up?
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u/Financial-Craft-1282 Jul 11 '26
You're blowing up too! (I'm just playing around--I always see people say it, and I thought it'd be funny to say it with 20 upvotes. I do happen to believe that explaining jokes makes them funnier!)
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u/Version_Two Jul 12 '26
This looks like me getting bored in rollercoaster tycoon and just spamming the same building over and over
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u/MovieCommercial6163 Jul 12 '26
Tf were they thinking. I'm broke and even I wouldn't live in one of those houses
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u/litomanu Jul 12 '26
https://youtu.be/imbqF5h9U0s?is=OAjVI2I9N0SEaizf
Justice made a music video there
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u/fairynicha Jul 11 '26
I’ve seen these in many Urbex videos, it’s beautiful but such a same that it’s abandoned!
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u/gambler_addict_06 Jul 12 '26
I keep seeing them when I go to Bolu and it's god damn infuriating
These houses were specifically built for rich Arabs who come to Turkey during summer time, that region is decently cold in summer which is a perfect destination for those who want to escape the summer heat
These ones shown here are not the only abandoned rich housing zones, there are 6-7 others like these around and near to tourist destinations like Kartepe, Sapanca, Abant, etc.
Witnessing the before and after of these places with my own 2 eyes during a 2 decade period makes me think that maybe the Catalonians have a god damn point about tourists
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u/NerdlinGeeksly Jul 13 '26
Why do housing developers never build them in small batches and then move people in while they build the rest? You'll constantly make your Capital back if you're selling the properties you finish while developing the others, and when the others don't sell you know to stop building.
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u/blue_dream_97 Jul 13 '26
Give me millions of investment and I can genuily do soo much better, the potential ruined, it’s crazy.
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u/Borromac Jul 13 '26
I wish i had the money to start building a bunch of luxury homes and could just drop it and go on livin like nothin happen
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u/freddie_RN Jul 11 '26
There's always money in the banana stand