The $200 Million Village That Shares a Resemblance to the Castle in Disneyland

This must be the happiest place in Turkey

Edmund

• Published in Disney
• February 18, 2019

The castle in Disneyland (now known as the Sleeping Beauty Castle but originally known as Snow White's Castle) opened on July 17th 1955 in Disneyland in California. Since then, it was replicated in Hong Kong in 2005 (until January 1st 2018 where it was replaced by Princesses Castle).

However, one of the most unexpected replications comes from Turkey. A village has been partially constructed in Turkey’s northern Bolu province where each of the houses share a striking resemblance to the Sleeping Beauty Castle.

Hundreds of faux chateaux with a resemblance to the castle were built in Turkey. The group behind the houses, 'The Sarot Group' have been placed into court ordered bankruptcy due to Burj Al Babas’ $27 million debt. According to its website, the project was planned to include 732 villas, swimming pools, Turkish baths, health and beauty centers, a shopping center and a mosque. 350 of the 587 villas have been purchased but it is still not enough to pay off the money owed.

“We couldn’t get about 7.5 million dollars receivables for the villas we have sold to Gulf countries,” the group's chairperson Mehmet Emin Yerdelen has been quoted saying to 'Hurriyet Daily News'. “We applied for bankruptcy protection but the court ruled for bankruptcy. We will appeal the ruling.”

Additionally, the court has ordered that construction be ceased immediately but Yerdelen is hopeful.

“The project is valued at $200 million,” he said. “We only need to sell 100 villas to pay off our debt. I believe we can get over this crisis in four to five months and partially inaugurate the project in 2019.”

Since the news of the court ruling has come out the villas' design has been criticised. Some have called the designs creepy and gothic. Some also criticising how identical each villa looks and the proximity each villa is to one another. It would definitely be understandable if you got lost.

Some have even said that the layout reminds them of Edward Scissorhands.

The layout is definitely not for someone who likes their space.

It is a shame as the landscape that surrounds it is magical in a way that suits the Disney-esk design.

It is a shame all of this has happened as the individual villas really don't look bad. A bit of space would probably do them some good.

Hopefully the group will get their debt sorted soon so they can complete these divisive villas and sell them to people who will appreciate them for their unique design.

Edmund