(CNN) — Picture the scene: rows of identical, palatial turreted buildings, surrounded by rolling hills and woodland.

No, this isn't the beginning to the latest Disney movie -- it's more eerie than that: all of these Gothic-style buildings lie empty, forming an ethereal, abandoned ghost town.

Burj Al Babas is a $200 million housing development, located near Mudurnu, in northwestern Turkey, roughly midway between Istanbul and Ankara.

When the developers, Sarot Property Group, fell into recession-fueled financial difficulty in 2018, the hundreds of castle-style villas were abandoned, mid-construction, the AFP news agency reported.

Abandoned palaces

Burj Al Babas is a $200 million deserted housing developed in Turkey. ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images

Burj Al Babas initially began development in 2014, with chateaus reportedly selling for $400,000-$500,000. The idea was that the properties would be snapped up by wealthy Gulf investors.

Some were sold, but many investors have since pulled out.

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"Some of the sales had to be canceled," Sarot's deputy chairman, Mezher Yerdelen, told AFP.

The developers stipulated that no modification would be allowed to building exteriors -- which explains the identical nature of each property.