Eerie ghost towns, villages abandoned after shocking massacres, the palaces of deposed dictators and mansions so well preserved they’re like 1950s time capsules are among the Middle East’s abandoned treasures. The Cradle of Civilization and the areas that lie just outside of it contain some of humanity’s oldest structures, and a great many ruins.

The Abandoned Palaces of Egypt

(images via: wikimedia commons, dalbera, eusuperfunhappytime)

In 1869, construction of the Suez Canal brought foreign money flooding into Egypt, and ambitious foreign businessmen got to work on ornate castles in Western European style, which stood as stark symbols of colonialism. But when Gamal Abdel Nasser became president in 1956, he put an end to that, kicking out the wealthy foreigners to reclaim the nation for the people. Unfortunately, economic instability hasn’t allowed for the palaces to be redeveloped, so today they range from shuttered time capsules of the 1950s to crumbling ruins.

The Baron Empain Palace  (top), built by Eduoard Louis Joseph of Belgium in the late nineteenth to early 20th centuries, is one such place. Modeled on Hindu and Cambodian temples, the palace sits in a dirt lot in the Cairo suburb of Heliopolis, surrounded by barbed wire. It’s closed to the public, but like many such places, it’s the subject of many rumors of ghost stories and Satanic rituals.

Another is Prince Said Halim’s palace, also known as Champollion House, in Cairo. This palace was converted to a secondary school after its abandonment, but it has been empty since 2004.

Maasser el Chouf, Lebanon

(images via: samer noun)

Located in lush woods just outside the peaceful Al-Shouf Cedar Reserve of Lebanon’s Maasser Cedar Forest, this idyllic village was utterly devastated by the massacre of September 9th, 1983. The houses that remain empty belonged to those who perished or fled to safer places when 63 Catholics were killed by their Druze neighbors in a brutal daytime assault. Years later, in 1990, a son left orphaned by the attack returned and killed five Druze villagers and three soldiers in revenge. Some of the homes are still occupied by those who survived.

Photographer Samer Noun gained access to the abandoned homes in 2011, capturing these eerie images of the architectural remains.

Saddam Hussein’s Abandoned Palaces, Iraq

The Babylonian palaces of Saddam Hussein once stood as ostentatious symbols of the Iraqi dictator’s power, hastily constructed all over the country. Once he was forced from power, these ornate palaces full of treasures were either taken over by US Army forces or looted by locals. These photos by Richard Mosse document the period in which American soldiers stalked the marble halls, strung up American flags in what were once exclusive chambers and parked their massive military vehicles right in front of the faux-grand entrances. Many of the palaces are deteriorating, and not just because of war damage; they were so cheaply made that they simply haven’t stood up to the test of time.

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Cradle To Graveyard 7 Abandoned Wonders Of The Middle East

The life of late Apple magnate Steve Jobs was unquestionably full of interesting twists and turns. One of the lesser-known battles fought by Jobs was that of Jackling Mansion, a home that polarized the town of Woodside, California and became one of the area’s most intriguing abandoned places.

An Historic Home

(all images via: Jonathan Haeber)

The Jackling House was built in 1925 as a residence for copper mining baron Daniel Cowan Jackling and his family. Famed Californian architect George Washington Smith designed and built the stunning 17,000 square foot home in the popular (for the area and the time) Spanish Colonial Revival style. Inside, a massive pipe organ provided a fascinating focal point.

Steve’s Role

Steve Jobs bought the breathtaking property in 1984 and lived there for about a decade. The home was then rented out for a number of years until 2000, at which time Jobs stopped maintaining it and the building began to fall into disrepair. This once-magnificent home began to crumble and eventually became one of the most opulent abandonments in the country.

But Jobs didn’t intend to abandon the place altogether. He had a plan to demolish the original Jackling mansion and build a more modest family home in its place. In 2004 he received permission from Woodside to move forward with his plan…but the town’s other residents had another idea.

Upholding Heritage

A citizen group of preservationists called Uphold Our Heritage was quickly formed in order to block the demolition of the building. They filed lawsuits against the town of Woodside and against Jobs personally, stating that both parties had failed to recognize the historic value of the home and would be doing the town a disservice by tearing it down.

The legal battle that ensued was epic. From 2004 to 2011, Jobs and his lawyer returned to court time after time to gain the necessary demolition permits. The two sides struggled seemingly endlessly, with the preservationists insisting that the home was an important piece of history and Jobs insisting that it would take more money to salvage the mansion than it would to simply tear it down and build a new home.

The End of the Battle

Whichever side of this argument makes more sense to you, the reality is that Jobs eventually won the fight. He was granted the permits necessary to demolish the Jackling House in 2011 and the house was torn down just months before his death.

Thankfully for those of us who love exploring the depths of abandoned places, photographer Jonathan Haeber was able to capture these incredible photos before the building was gone forever.

Haeber arrived at the mansion sometime around 2007 to find the gate open and the property unlocked. He ventured inside to produce some of the last-ever images of this breathtaking and majestic home.

Although the paint was peeling, the plaster was crumbling and the elements had begun to reclaim the building, it was not hard to see the past splendor of the place.

In a very real way, the neglect suffered by this beautiful mansion only served to increase and highlight its best features. The world lost a truly elegant piece of architecture when the Jackling House was demolished.