Turkish painter İsmail Acar’s castles in France robbed

FUAT ÇAĞDAŞ

The famous Turkish painter İsmail Acar’s twin castles, located 25-30 kilometers from the city of Bordeaux in France, have been robbed several times.

The castles were robbed five times within a few months reportedly when employees working there were on leave and during a power outage in the region, which is why the robbers were not caught on CCTV. The thieves have reportedly given huge damages to the castles.

The artist had bought the castles, worth 10 million euros, in 2011 and also owns a 200,000 square-meter wine vineyard. He had initially planned to use the twin castles with 100 rooms as a hotel, but later decided to build the “İsmail Acar Art School.”

After receiving the necessary permissions, Acar finished his preparations but postponed the opening of the art school due to the pandemic. He returned to Turkey after installing a security system in the castles. Acar had not been able to go to France due to the pandemic for two years.

It was learned that 12 of his paintings with a total value of 400,000 euros were stolen. Electronic equipment, worth 160,000 euros, 16 fireplaces and parquets were reported to have been damaged.