Nobody wants to buy 732 locks. The estate looks like something out of a horror movie.

A few years ago, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dreamed of owning a property bigger than the White House. He made his vision come true in the form of the White Palace. Aksaraç was built despite protests from environmentalists and against common sense (the construction cost is estimated at $440 million), but – as the Burj al-Babas investment shows – the sultan’s ambitions extend beyond the rulers. In the Bolu district, halfway between Istanbul and Ankara, a settlement has been built with rows of mansions. Its architecture resembles a mix of a Disney castle and a bizarre horror movie setting. In addition, there are 732 locks, giving a double effect better than Andy Warhol’s work.

According to international media reports, the investment by Sarot Group is aimed at wealthy people from Arab countries. The entire infrastructure was to be built as part of the property: spas, mosques, shopping malls and everything a rich person could possibly need among the Turkish mountains, far from the capital. The plans were extensive, but the construction, which cost $205 million (PLN 770 million), was suspended due to lack of customer interest and the worsening recession. The inflation and currency crisis in Turkey has affected developers, including Sarot Group, which has declared bankruptcy. The company’s chairman told the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet that the company would not give up, because selling just 100 ready-made locks would cover the entire investment.

How do you sell 732 castles with such social media?

Somewhat surprisingly, Burj Al Babas’ Twitter account is closed, their Instagram is nonexistent, and the Facebook icon on the site takes us to the account of Yusel Batdal, who lives in Istanbul and has dozens of friends. Maybe selling more than 700 mansion-style homes isn’t enough? Burj Al Babas’ Facebook page itself isn’t very popular either: despite information about the developer’s problems in all languages ​​of the world, only 774 people decided to click “like”. It may seem like there are more than just locks for sale, but as we know, “like” in itself often doesn’t translate into active action, in this case – sales.

The prices of the houses (exactly the same from the outside, so the level of finishing must definitely be different) range from PLN 370,000 to PLN 530,000. dollars (about PLN 1.3-2 million). The investment was supposed to be completed in October 2019, but at the moment there are no people who want to live in concrete castles. Maybe the developer will decide to organize a movie set there? We were watching.