CASTLES IN THE AIR
The Guardian Weekly|November 01, 2024
It was meant to be a dream development of mansions in the Turkish hills. But 13 years on, Burj AI Babas is a half-built ghost town, and a microcosm of the scandal-hit construction sector under Erdoğan. Will the buyers ever get to move in?
Ruth Michaelson and Beril Eski
CASTLES IN THE AIR

FROM THE ROOFTOP OF THE CASTLE where I'm standing, a panorama of bluegrey turrets stretches into the distance. The effect is like staring into a kaleidoscope. It's a fairytale sight, the intricate white-painted fronts and curved balconies resembling a collection of adultsized dollhouses.

The fantasy quickly falls apart, though. Many of the castles further into the complex have only concrete facades. In between them, spaces intended for manicured lawns have been reclaimed by wildflowers, some so tall their petals and fronds stretch to the first-floor balconies. An eerie silence is broken only by birdsong and the occasional passing car.

It is a warm summer day in August 2023 and there is no one here except a bored security guard and Adem Tekgöz, our tour guide to this bizarre ghost town in the Turkish countryside. Tekgöz represents the Sarot Group, the developer of this crumbling fantasy land, and his surly demeanour suggests he is not keen to show off their work to new visitors. "It gets cold in the winter, so we stopped construction. We're preparing to restart next summer," he says, brushing aside the question of why no work is taking place now. No matter: Tekgöz appears confident that a lick of paint and reconnecting the electricity to the wires strung between the castles will breathe life back into the project.

As we inspect the interiors, where wires dangle from bare ceilings, it's clear some of the rooms have water damage, presumably from the snow that blankets the surrounding valley each winter. Tekgöz's tour also means stumbling across frequent evidence of neglect, including a bloodied bird carcass and what I hope are animal droppings near a concrete cavity in the basement of one castle. In the deserted centre of the complex, one floor of what is supposed to be a shopping mall and luxury hotel is littered with evidence of how much work is still to do: piles of abandoned filigree mouldings and unused turrets lie on the concrete.

This story is from the November 01, 2024 edition of The Guardian Weekly.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the November 01, 2024 edition of The Guardian Weekly.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM THE GUARDIAN WEEKLYView All
What Can America Expect From Trump 2.0
The Guardian Weekly

What Can America Expect From Trump 2.0

THE 45TH AND 47TH commander-in-chief will face fewer limits on his ambition when he is sworn in again in January.

time-read
5 mins  |
November 15, 2024
New World Order How Will Trump Reshape US Foreign Policy?
The Guardian Weekly

New World Order How Will Trump Reshape US Foreign Policy?

DURING THE FIRST TRUMP TERM, Richard Moore, then the political director of the UK Foreign Offi ce and now the head of MI6, has admitted that half of Britain’s diplomats woke up each morning dreading what they might read on the president’s Twitter feed.

time-read
5 mins  |
November 15, 2024
Seed drill: what can I make with tahini beyond just hummus?
The Guardian Weekly

Seed drill: what can I make with tahini beyond just hummus?

'Tahini has a beautiful versatility,\" says Fadi Kattan, chef/co-founder of Akub in London and author of Bethlehem, \"from a drizzle over your morning toast or granola, to an earthy background flavour in a sauce, to all sorts of cakes and cookies.\"

time-read
2 mins  |
November 15, 2024
Trump unleashed will be even worse than last time's dress rehearsal Jonathan Freedland
The Guardian Weekly

Trump unleashed will be even worse than last time's dress rehearsal Jonathan Freedland

Are you ready for Trump unbound? You may have thought the former and future president was already pretty unrestrained, not least because Donald Trump has never shown anything but brazen disrespect for boundaries or limits of any kind. And you would be right. But, as an earlier entertainer turned president – and Trump combines the two roles – liked to say: You ain’t seen nothing yet.

time-read
4 mins  |
November 15, 2024
Trump's return is bleak for America and the world
The Guardian Weekly

Trump's return is bleak for America and the world

This is an exceptionally bleak and frightening moment for the United States and the world. Donald Trump swept the electoral college and the popular vote -giving him not merely a victory, but a mandate. If many voters gambled on him in 2016, they doubled down this time.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 15, 2024
Flower Power
The Guardian Weekly

Flower Power

Once a modest sign of remembrance for the war dead, the poppy has increasingly been used as a prop for performative patriotism, and a tool that helps to gauge others' loyalty to an ideal of national sacrifice

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 15, 2024
When adult children cut the cord
The Guardian Weekly

When adult children cut the cord

Grownups who cut off contact with their family are often trying to break away after a traumatic childhood. But sometimes the estrangement can be totally unexpected for parents who really believe they've done their best

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 15, 2024
Battle lines Pyongyang's Russia entente is a dilemma for Xi Jinping
The Guardian Weekly

Battle lines Pyongyang's Russia entente is a dilemma for Xi Jinping

In October 1950, barely a year after the Chinese civil war ended, Mao Zedong sent the first Chinese soldiers to fight in the Korean war. Between 180,000 and 400,000 of Chairman Mao's troops would die in that conflict, including his own son. But it was important to defend North Korea then, Mao reportedly said, because \"without the lips, the teeth are cold\".

time-read
2 mins  |
November 15, 2024
The hospital on the frontline of unstoppable gang warfare
The Guardian Weekly

The hospital on the frontline of unstoppable gang warfare

It was mid-morning in central Port-au-Prince and already two shooting victims had been rushed into the hospital past a mural instructing visitors to leave machetes and rifles outside.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 15, 2024
Small wonders Unravelling the paradoxes of plankton
The Guardian Weekly

Small wonders Unravelling the paradoxes of plankton

Scientists are using technology to sequence the DNA of microscopic marine life for the first time-to help us learn more about ourselves

time-read
4 mins  |
November 15, 2024