![]() “He drew it, and we made it happen on the ground,” said Mehmet Emin Yerdelen, 56, the coordinator of the project.įor inspiration, they drew on landmark buildings in Istanbul, the Italianate Galata tower and the medieval Maiden’s tower, as well as British and American architecture, said his brother Mezher Yerdelen, 39, the chief executive officer of the Sarot group’s projects. Yilmaz who first sketched out the idea on paper. The group bought land in several locations and began a hotel and spa complex, Harry Potter-style forest cottages and, in a secluded valley out of town, an entire suburb of minicastles, like a full-size Legoland display. The Sarot group, run by the Yerdelen brothers and their partner, Bulent Yilmaz, decided to move away from their base in Istanbul, where they mostly worked on water and drainage projects to develop sites around the Roman spa town of Mudurnu in central Turkey, which is famous for its hot springs and healing waters. Developers began all manner of schemes to meet the burgeoning demand. Erdogan made sure that foreigners could buy property relatively easily and dangled citizenship, if the investment in real estate was above $250,000. Rich Arabs and Russians joined European customers lining up to buy summer villas on the Aegean coast and luxury apartments and waterside palaces in Istanbul. The government introduced mortgages in 2001 and reformed conditions for foreign buyers to increase investment in the sector. The country was busy catching up with Europe in many ways. Turkey was feted as the place to invest in the early 2000s, its largest city dubbed “Cool Istanbul: Europe’s Hippest City.” Under the business-friendly leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, first as mayor of Istanbul, then prime minister and now president, the economy boomed and real estate prices soared. Now, the development is almost at a standstill as the partners work their way through bankruptcy court but are still allowed to trade, their futures debated regularly in the news media. Meanwhile, between terrorist attacks, a failed coup attempt and what many experts say was unsustainable borrowing, cronyism and huge public works projects with little economic return, Turkey’s economy ground to a halt. Then oil prices slumped, hitting the buyers. ![]() The Yerdelen brothers, construction entrepreneurs from Istanbul riding a real estate boom, had plans to build more than 700 minicastles, with turrets and breezy rooftop terraces overlooking the forest, aiming to draw in Arabs from the Gulf countries who love to come to Turkey for its lush nature and Mediterranean climate.Īt first, business was brisk: Half the castles were sold, they said, and building was going apace. You might even be able to get a deal on it. MUDURNU, Turkey - Looking for a castle on a cul-de-sac in the Black Sea region of Turkey?
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