Joe Hattab is a Dubai-based documentary filmmaker known as the world’s leading Arab YouTuber. Known for his cinematic travel videos, Hattab produces short, meaningful and emotional content that raises awareness on many issues. Reaching more than 14 million subscribers and more than 20 million views on his YouTube channel, Hattab translated his videos into Turkish and gained the appreciation of a wide Turkish audience.
During his visits to Türkiye, he visited a building in Bolu, which was started in 2011 to be sold to the Arabs, but whose construction was unfinished due to financial problems. “Chateau Villas” or “Burj Al Babas” He visited the project known as. this project “The Biggest Mistake in History” Describing it as “”, Hattab attracted attention by discovering the story behind the project. Here is the story of these interesting and controversial Castle Houses in Bolu…
Mudurnu Castle Villas Abandoned After a Failed Project
In 2011, Burj Al Babas Work on the project has started. A giant project consisting of 732 villas, a shopping mall (shopping mall), a hotel and two congress centers was to be implemented 3 kilometers away from Mudurnu. However, the high costs and increasing controversies observed at the beginning of the project would lead the project towards failure.
The process of purchasing the lands required for the project was also quite controversial. Lands were purchased well above market value, and some tradesmen described the situation as follows: “I had 11 acres of land in the area where villas are currently built. The company offered to exchange land elsewhere, but I declined. Then they bought my land, which was worth 120 thousand liras, for 660 thousand liras.” This type of overvaluation was just one of the problems at the beginning of the project.
Project that does not fit into the historical texture of Mudurnu
The people of Mudurnu, Burj Al Babas They argued that the project was incompatible with the district and saw these structures as elements that damaged the architectural texture of the city. Mudurnu is a place with the title of Cittaslow (Slow City) and UNESCO Cultural Heritage listWhat a candidate region it was.
A project that damaged this historical and cultural wealth attracted great public reaction. However, the project owners stated that they created the design of Burj Al Babas with foreign architects and were inspired by the Galata Tower and Maiden’s Tower. Although this was considered a statement aimed at adding aesthetic value to the project, it did not alleviate public concerns.
Economic Crisis and Bankruptcy: Project Collapse
Castle-type villas that look like they came out of a fairy tale While construction continued, 350 of them were sold to buyers from Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Dubai and Saudi Arabia. These sales, which were made with great hopes at the beginning, were the part of the project that seemed like a dream. However, this dream unfortunately did not last long.
When Arab customers did not pay the installments of the villas on time, economic difficulties began to arise. Sarot Thermal Group, the owner of the project, ran into a financial impasse and declared bankruptcy. The project, in which millions of dollars were spent and 750 decares of land was used, came to a halt in the early stages of construction. Despite this, the company announced that it had paid half of its debts and aimed to complete the project in 2021.
An Abandoned and Interesting Shooting Area
Although abandoned, Burj Al Babas still attracts worldwide attention. Especially in recent years, the video for the song “Lose Control” by Meduza, Becky Hill and Goodboys was shot here. Although castle-type villas may seem like a cute and abandoned village to some, they continue to be criticized by many people. These interesting structures, which are admired as much as they are disliked, draw attention with their abandonment, while on the other hand, they continue to create a world-wide attraction.
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