ABANDONED PLACES

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Byter and friend Graham E sent me an email with stories and pics of abandoned places in Turkey.

Thanks, Graham.

Below is Graham’s email to me, with some further notes on abandoned places following.

More abandoned places in future.

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Hi Mr O,

Yesterday I saw a story about an abandoned amusement park in Turkey, and then today a story about this village, what else is there........

Burj Al Babas is a residential development located near the Turkish town of Mudurnu. The homes in the development are designed to resemble miniature chateaux. The centre of the complex was to include a domed structure containing stores, a movie theatre, and other facilities open to residents.

Construction began in 2014. The development was originally successful, but sales eventually stalled, causing the developer to enter bankruptcy. Falling oil prices and instability in Turkey have been cited as reasons for the lack of sales. As of January 2019, 587 of the planned 732 homes were started but none were finished

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Wonderland Eurasia, previously known as Ankapark, was an amusement park in Ankara, Turkey. Opened in 2019, the park has 17 roller coasters, the second-most worldwide. It was closed permanently in February 2020.

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Ghost Village Of Kayakoy is a famous haunted village in Turkey. Located a short distance from the tourist’s resorts in Fethiye and Olu Deniz, the dark history of this village is the reason it has been declared and believed to be haunted. There was an earthquake year back which led to the deportation of many Christians from the village. It is a popular tourist destination but you will start to feel the thrill as soon as you enter the old and abandoned buildings and structures.

Cheers

Mr G

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And ‘smore . . .

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Houtouwan is a Chinese former fishing village located about 40 miles from Shanghai. Once an active settlement, inhabited by around 2,000 fishermen and their families, it is today abandoned, nature having taken over in a beautiful way. In the early 1990s, when the small bay became increasingly unable to meet the growing fish industry’s needs, residents began migrating to the mainland in search of other employment and a better life, a pattern that was common in many small Chinese villages.

Slowly, nearly every house was abandoned, and only a handful of residents now remain. Some villagers who used to live in Houtouwan have found another form of income in tourism, showing visitors the landscape, and selling them water, the only item on offer on the island.

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The Maunsell Forts are armed towers built in the Thames and Mersey estuaries during the Second World War to help defend the United Kingdom. They were operated as army and navy forts, and named after their designer, Guy Maunsell.

In the 7 tower arrangement, the control tower was at the centre of the grouping, with the towers fitted with guns in a protective semi-circle around the control tower, with a search light tower in the back of the grouping. In all, there were four forts built and their job was to deter and report German air raids or any attempts to lay mines in the waters of the Channel. The forts exceeded expectations, shooting down 22 planes and 30 flying bombs. In the years immediately following the war, the British government wanted more built, but none of the plans moved forward.

Army fort in active service

The forts were decommissioned in the late 1950s and later used for other activities including pirate radio broadcasting. One of the forts is managed by the unrecognised Principality of Sealand; boats visit the remaining forts occasionally, and a consortium called Project Redsands is planning to conserve the fort situated at Red Sands.

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