A photographer has shared eerie pictures of an abandoned ‘eco-hotel’ which cost £3.66 billion – and was built as a gift to a German billionaire’s lover.
Dmitry Rzhannikov, 56, a journalist from St Petersburg, Russia, came across the unusual hotel while in Turkey.
In the early 2000s, the venue – located in the Antalya-Kemer region and known as Holiday Area Eco Dream Club Sea Resort – was booming with guests, and was once known as one of the most popular tourist complexes in the country.
However, the hotel unexpectedly closed its doors in June 2014 and since then the building had become dilapidated – yet its haunting beauty and unique history still attracts thousands of visitors every year.
Dmitry claims the hotel has an illustrious history and a bit of a love story.
“A German billionaire fell in love with a Turkish beauty and built the hotel for her as a gift,” he told Jam Press.
“Construction cost over $5 billion (£3.66 billion) but then the beauty either died or fell out of love with him and the hotel went to a Turkish businessman.
“He scored loans for the development, didn’t pay them off and fled abroad or perhaps died.
“The quarrelling heirs couldn’t share the property and during this time, the economy fell into despair.”
The photographer believes the hotel filed for bankruptcy and the complex was left to decay.
Dmitry explored the eerie location, with its quirky exterior and decorations that include giant frogs and a worn replica of Noah’s Ark.
In one image, a worn and crumbling treehouse can be spotted as the overgrown trees mask its appearance.
In another shot, three rusted life-sized monkey sculptures sit staring into the abyss – signed ‘speak no evil, see no evil and hear no evil’.
Other features include gigantic bugs dotted around the complex, as well as a piece of literature on a marble plaque, which has since been smashed and is now unreadable.
“I noticed some strange figures flashing between the trees in the window, but these were the sculptures of animals on the premises,” Dmitry told Jam Press.
“I was excited, as it looked really fantastic – like a scene from a movie.
“Seeing the beauty in all this ugliness and devastation is not immediately obtained.
“You can go into the hotel rooms abandoned by their inhabitants and look into the romantic tree houses.
“You can go up the stairs to the amphitheatre, among the chairs in which admiring spectators one sat and float between the imaginary tables of the former cafes and restaurants.”
Due to its location up the slope of a mountain, which is overgrown with pine trees, the hotel is known as an ‘eco’ venue – also due to its impressive inclusion of nature throughout.
The complex has so many attractions that it’s near-impossible to see them all in one day, so explorers usually take multiple trips to the site.
Some of the fun experiences include now-defunct cable cars, toy trains, a mini-zoo and a farm.
Dmitry said: “The children’s sector of the complex is especially striking, as guests were either greeted by a lion peeking out from behind a column, or giant gorillas lurking in ambush.
“Instead of a fence, a giant caterpillar winds and ‘fruits’ grow on artificial trees – in which, some are indistinguishable from others.
“Its psychedelic architecture is amazing to the imagination.
“Eco Dream is a Disneyland for the crazy.”
