Burj Al Babas: What You Need to Know About Turkey’s Abandoned Disney Castle Village

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Burj Al Babas is one of the weirdest, most fascinating places you can visit in Turkey.

We found it by accident during our 7-day road trip — a trip that already included ancient ruins, surreal landscapes, and coastal gems — but somehow, this half-built castle village in the hills near Bolu ended up being the thing we still talk about most.

Picture hundreds of identical mini-castles, straight out of a Disney movie — except they’re crumbling, empty, and completely abandoned. It’s part fairytale, part fever dream.

You’ve probably seen the photos online and wondered: What happened here? Can you actually visit? Is it even legal? We had the same questions — and no, there’s not a lot of clear info out there. But we went. And here’s everything you need to know.

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Where Is Burj Al Babas?

You’ll find Burj Al Babas in northern Turkey, near a small town called Mudurmu, in Bolu Province.

The drive there is absolutely stunning but bad weather can make it a bit challenging.

If you’re driving between Istanbul and Cappadocia, or looping inland from the coast, it makes for a very doable stop. It’s about 2.5–3 hours from Istanbul by car.

Google Maps will take you straight there. Just search for “Burj Al Babas” and follow the road — you’ll know when you’ve arrived as you’ll be able to spot it frmo a distance.

The Story Behind the Abandoned Castles

So what exactly is this place, and why does it look like a luxury fairytale village that never opened?

Burj Al Babas was launched in the early 2010s as a massive luxury housing project. The plan was simple enough: build over 700 identical villas styled like mini French castles and sell them to wealthy buyers, mostly from the Gulf region. These weren’t meant to be quirky holiday rentals — they were full-scale homes with marble floors, underfloor heating, private spas, and big views.

Each villa was priced at around $400,000, and for a while, the project actually seemed to be moving forward. A surprising number of units were built — some even fully finished — and you can still see the original website if you search around. It’s a fun throwback to early 2010s web design, and it gives you a sense of just how big the project was meant to be. There were supposed to be restaurants, shops, pools — the works.

But by 2018, things stalled. The developers ran into financial problems, sales slowed down, and eventually, the company filed for bankruptcy. Construction just stopped. Dozens (if not hundreds) of villas were left unfinished, and the area was more or less abandoned.

It’s now considered one of Turkey’s biggest failed real estate projects — and while it’s definitely a strange sight, it’s also fascinating. A full village of empty castles, all lined up in perfect rows, waiting for something that never came.

What It’s Like to Visit Burj Al Babas

There’s not a ton of official information out there about visiting Burj Al Babas — and that’s probably on purpose.

Once you get close, you’ll start noticing “No Trespassing” and “No Drones” signs dotted around the area, which feels a little shady considering there’s supposedly no active construction happening. You’ll also see a few villas on the outer edge that look… lived in. Whether that’s legal or not, who knows — and whether they’re hooked up to power is anyone’s guess.

Driving up to the main gate, we were met by a security guard who didn’t seem too fussed — let’s just say he was happy to let us in with a bit of encouragement. He did, however, keep things on a timer and wasn’t shy about adjusting said encouragement for the 10 minutes we overstayed.

Inside? We had the entire site to ourselves. From the drone photos online, it looks big. But driving through it — for what feels like forever — you really start to grasp just how massive and eerie this place is. Dozens (maybe hundreds) of identical, grey fairy-tale castles lining half-paved roads, some with overgrown weeds creeping in, others still looking pristine.

And while the interiors are completely bare — no furniture, no fixtures — you can still get a good feel for the layout. Some villas have spiral staircases, others have small terraces with a killer view of the surrounding forested hills. If you’ve ever seen the promotional floor plans from the old sales website, you’ll recognize the layout. And from the upper floors, the view is surprisingly beautiful — the kind of view that probably helped sell the dream in the first place.

(2025 Update) The Legal Fallout: 885 Years on the Table

Fast forward to 2025, and this is no longer just a sad fairy-tale turned ghost town — it’s officially one of Turkey’s biggest urban planning scandals ever.

Googling it now, and headlines read: “885 years in prison sought for Turkey’s grandest ghost-town disaster.” And yes, that’s for each developer involved, not collectively. Prosecutors are going after 13 suspects and accusing them of a $67 million scam — fraud, false promises, shady cash deals, the works.

So it wasn’t just that they ran out of money — the justice system is treating it like deliberate fraud. They allege the guys never intended to build the villas, just collect cash. That changes the vibe from “ambitious failure” to “cold fraud.” Which, in a weird way, makes it even more interesting.

Where to Stay Near Burj Al Babas

If you want to crash somewhere close to Burj Al Babas, Mudurnu is your best bet. It’s about a 20–25 minute drive and has that sleepy, small-town charm with cobbled streets and Ottoman houses. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage candidate.

I saw quite a few of simple family-run guesthouses here, for reasonable prices.

If you want to splurge on something a little bit more fancy, I’d check out Abant Palace Hotel which is right next to the Lake Abant and has more of a countryside retreat feel, with a spa/Turkish hammer, restaurant and tennis court.