War in Paradise. The ghost town of Varosha is an exclusion zone in Cyprus. Famagusta: the story of how the most beautiful city in Cyprus did not become his tourist Eldorado

The ghost town of Famagusta in Cyprus attracts tourists with its originality. Back in the relatively near 60s, one of the most fashionable resorts in the Mediterranean flourished here, and the most eminent celebrities visited local beaches. Now, Famagusta is an exclusion zone surrounded by barbed wire and guarded around the clock by Turkish gendarmes. Time in Famagusta froze in 1974, and this story is the places abandoned by people and frozen in time - a cross between Cuba and Chernobyl nuclear power plant. But we will start from the beginning.

From Antiquity to the Middle Ages

Just 6 km north of modern city Famagusta in Cyprus was once the richest and most mighty polis on the island - Salamis (another name - Salamis), founded, according to legend, immediately after the Trojan War by Tevkrom Telamonides. For more than a millennium, this policy was the capital of the Cypriot kings and the center of trade. Eastern Mediterranean. On the coast near Salamis in the III century. BC. Ptolemy II, the king of Hellenized Egypt and an ally of Rome, founded another policy - Arsinoe.

For more than a millennium, Salamis was the capital of the Cypriot kings and the center of trade in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Earthquakes of 332 and 342 both cities were not spared. The Roman emperor Constantius gave preference to Salamis (renamed Constance) and rebuilt it again. Soon this city became the center of the Cypriot Church, and on the ruins of Arsinoe a small fishing settlement arose - Famagusta. In the 7th century her hour has come: the inhabitants of Salamis-Constance had to leave their homes due to the constant attacks of Muslim Arabs. Today, the forum-gymnasium and the amphitheater of Salamina, restored during the excavations, are considered almost business cards. Northern Cyprus.

Richard the Lionheart, the kings of Cyprus and the jealous commandant

On May 1, 1191, the fleet of the English Crusader King Richard the Lionheart, heading from Rhodes to Accra, was caught in a storm. Of the four ships thrown ashore, one survived, but its passengers - the sister and bride of the king - became prisoners of the usurper of Cyprus, Isaac Komnenos. Richard's answer was symmetrical: he captured the island, waiting for the emperor to leave it for a while. After that, for many years, until the end of the XIII century, Cyprus remained in the possession of the crusaders.

During the Turkish rule, the Cathedral of St. Nicholas was renamed the Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque.

Famagusta became a significant settlement in Cyprus only at the end of the 13th century, with the fall of the Christian kingdoms of Palestine. It was thanks to the exodus of the crusaders that Famagusta very soon became a city where those who still dreamed of returning to the Holy Land settled. Hopes were futile, but Famagusta turned into a rich Trading port protected by a formidable fortress.

From 1328 to 1374 representatives of the Lusignan dynasty, nominally considered the kings of Jerusalem, but in fact - the kings of Cyprus - were crowned in the Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Famagusta. In 1374 Famagusta was annexed by Genoa, which won the war with Cyprus. The Lusignan dynasty died out in 1489, after which, according to the will of the widow of the last king, Caterina Cornaro, Cyprus passed to Venice.

Rumor has it that the story of a jealous husband and his wife, which happened here in 1508, formed the basis of Shakespeare's tragedy "Othello"

In 1505, Christoforo Moro was appointed commandant of the fortress and castle of Famagusta, which also became Venetian. The fortress has already been repaired, and the castle was rebuilt in the Renaissance style. According to legend, from one of its towers in 1508, the commandant Moreau threw off the body of his murdered wife, who he suspected of infidelity, after which he committed suicide. This gloomy story formed the basis of Shakespeare's tragedy Othello.

From empires to republics

The fortress of Famagusta in Cyprus is famous not only for the Othello tower, but also for the heroic defense in 1570-71, during the siege of the city by the troops of the Turkish Sultan Selim II. The siege lasted 10 months, but the forces were clearly unequal. The Venetians had to surrender the city. One of the conditions for surrender was the unhindered exit of the surviving soldiers from Famagusta. Lala Mustafa Pasha, the commander of the Turkish army that besieged the fortress, agreed to these conditions, but did not keep his promise.

Until recently, Famagusta was one of the most fashionable resorts in the Mediterranean.

Turkey owned Cyprus until 1878. In Famagusta, the southern coastal region Varosha. Orthodox and Latin churches became mosques. The Cathedral of St. Nicholas (now the Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque) also became a mosque, but most Greek Cypriots continued to perform Christian rites in secret. From 1878 to 1960 Cyprus was a British colony, but the Turks and Greeks still lived separately.

In 1960, Cyprus gained independence, while both communities retained full self-government. This allowed the development travel business. Famagusta in Cyprus has become one of the the most prestigious resorts. Among her guests were Brigitte Bardot and Elizabeth Taylor with Richard Burton. In the Varosha region, a full-scale construction of hotels was launched on the first line, and on the second - next to houses in colonial style- new villas appeared ...

Famagusta ghost town: payback for trust

On August 14, 1974, tanks approached Famagusta: this is how the Turkish government reacted to the desire of the Greek Cypriots to reunite with Greece. On August 16, the city was occupied by Turkish troops. Residents of the Varosha region, who fled from shelling and bombing, did not even suspect that they were leaving their homes forever. They were told that they would be able to return as soon as the situation was resolved. The area was surrounded by concrete fences with barbed wire, and the ghost town became a cruel reality. The settlement of the situation in this area of ​​Famagusta has been going on for 40 years…

Time in Famagusta stood still in 1974

According to a UN resolution adopted in 1984, only former local residents can settle in the area, but this is prohibited by the Turkish authorities. That is why the beaches of Varosha, which were considered perhaps the best not only in Famagusta, but also in the Mediterranean as a whole, are deserted today. And the fashionable hotels built in the early 70s, and the neat houses of the Greeks are already desperate to wait for their owners and guests ....

The forbidden zone of Famagusta immediately attracted the attention of "stalkers". Clothes, appliances, utensils - everything was looted in the early years of its existence. dead city". The "craftsmen" put aluminum frames out of the windows, dismantled them "by the bones" and carried out the furniture, removed all the stuffing from the abandoned cars. And this is despite the fact that only Turkish gendarmes, UN representatives and a few journalists are still allowed to enter and enter the closed territory.

Only Turkish gendarmes, UN representatives and a few journalists are still allowed to enter the closed area.

However, in last years pass or drive through tourist bus along the perimeter of the "dead city" it is allowed on excursions to Famagusta (Gazimagusa in Turkish), but there is still no talk of a walk around the territory itself. Violators face heavy fines and subsequent deportation. All photos close-up, which can be found in blogs and the media, are obtained either illegally or with special permission for foreign journalists.

Excursions: where you can and where you can’t

The ghost town of Famagusta is, of course, an exaggeration, and it is quite possible to walk along its streets, bypassing, of course, the Varosha area. But for this you will need to cross the border with Northern Cyprus and get an entry visa at the checkpoint, which is placed in a separate insert. You can do this yourself on, but it’s better to act for sure, preferring an excursion with a guide who knows all the moves and exits (an article about a guide in Cyprus offering excursions to Famagusta, and ask him a question about the trip through the form feedback below). And it will be much easier to see the ghost town this way, especially since the Turkish gendarmes do not welcome citizens walking along the forbidden zone unaccompanied.

As part of the tour, you can see the fortress with the Othello tower, the sea gates, the mosque, take a walk around the city, etc.

As part of such an excursion, it is usually also offered to see the fortress with the Othello tower, the sea gate, the Lala Mustafa Pasha mosque, as well as stroll through the streets of the city, including for the purpose of shopping. If you do not plan to cross the border with Northern Cyprus anymore, it makes sense to visit other cities with ancient history, for example, to Kyrenia or Lapithos.

No matter how creepy it may sound, but the ghost town is worth a visit!

You can’t see everything in one visit to Cyprus, and this excursion with a visit to Famagusta, we were highly recommended from the travel agency on the street near our hotel in Ayia Napa, for which many thanks to them!

Until now, memories are flooding, emotions are going through the roof and I have never regretted that I saw dead city with my own eyes.

Of course, to tell this is one thing, but to see for yourself, to hear the story of the guide ....

The guides, by the way, are all Russian-speaking and sooo exciting. This applies to all excursions that we have visited.

Nevertheless, I will tell and show, although the review will not convey my internal state. This is history. History of Cyprus. This is a tragedy. A tragedy that is still not erased from memory, as the people involved in this are still alive ...

Famagusta city located on the southeastern coast of Cyprus, on the territory of the unrecognized state of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

***************************

Stop. forgot important point. Getting to Famagusta is not easy. Gotta get through Turkish border! Yes, everything is so complicated. Barbed wire and uncles with machine guns. No "hee!"

You will NOT be stamped in your passport, as the republic is not recognized by the community of countries.

****************************

Famagusta was a popular resort town, namely the Varosh area. Here were the most expensive hotels, best beaches with fine sand (by the way, it is imported from Egypt) and the purest water, luxurious real estate.

It was the most popular expensive place In Cyprus. Places in hotels booked 20 years ahead! Buying a property here was the ultimate dream. It is not surprising that Varosha has always been attempted.

In 1974, approximately 40% of Cyprus was taken over by the Turks, including Famagusta and Varosha.

Varosh left all the inhabitants. They were given 24 hours to vacate the area. Then no one could think that they would never return here ...

The pretentious quarter of Varosha with dozens of hotels, villas, sanatoriums, residential buildings was isolated and closed. It was surrounded by barbed wire and entry is prohibited.

Local residents cannot return here, and journalists cannot enter.

Marauders have long pulled out everything they could carry, the area was not saved from total looting. Nature is gradually destroying the once well-groomed buildings. And according to experts, the buildings are no longer subject to restoration if the area is ever opened.

Entrance is allowed only to the military of Turkey and the UN.

You can't take pictures, but they do it secretly and there are a lot of photos on the Internet, you can see them closer (I used some in collages along with mine, taken on this side of the fence).

According to some analysts, the Turks did not dare to settle in Varosha, because almost all the real estate here belongs (still!) to Western capital, and not to the Greeks. They did not want to develop a conflict with the West, but they are in no hurry to give up the territory, leaving it as an element of bargaining in the negotiations.

Negotiations are ongoing. But the whole problem is in the document adopted in May 1984 by the UN Security Council - Resolution No. 550, which, in particular, states: “Attempts to settle any part of the Varosha quarter by anyone other than its inhabitants are unacceptable.”

A terrible tragedy.

If you want to seriously think about the variability of our being or the transience of everything that exists, you are here.

There is an opinion that the Greeks won this war. Prior to the events of 1974, popular resorts were located on Turkish side- now they forgot the path there, but the Greek village of Ayia Napa, in which we had the honor to rest, has turned into tourist centre Cyprus.

*****************************************************************************************************

Famagusta is currently divided into two parts., one of which is closed to the public, from the word in general. On the other, Turkish Cypriots live their normal lives, and there are also many sights that I will show you now.

The main attraction of Famagusta is Cathedral St. Nicholas, and now Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque which is located in the city center.

Have you been to Paris? I was. Seeing this cathedral, for a moment I was transported to the square near Notre Dame. Well, it really does look like it!

Gothic lovers will appreciate the beauty of this mosque!

The top of the cathedral was damaged during the earthquake.

A huge ficus grows near the cathedral (on the left), it is 718 years old! There is a sign with the date of his birth.

You can go inside the mosque, but barefoot. We leave our shoes and walk through. Yes, just take off your flip flops and go.

Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque, rear view

The old city is surrounded by a fortress wall.

Bastion of Porta del Mar.

This old entrance to the city called sea ​​gate. You can climb up and look at the city from above.

From here offers a view of the dead city, Varosh quarter

The entrance is guarded by a stone lion who needs to whisper his desire in his ear and it will certainly come true!

Bastion of Dzhanbulat.

There was a warehouse here and the bravest Turkish warrior Dzhambulat is buried here.

Gothic church of Peter and Paul (XIV century, now a mosque)

Palazzo del Proveditore, once Royal Palace Lusignanov. Only arches and columns have survived to this day.

Church of St. George, and to be precise, what is left of it.

Varosha is a district of the city of Famagusta. In the sixties and seventies it was the most popular resort Cyprus and one of most popular places holidays throughout the Mediterranean. The beach, 4 kilometers long, was built up with brand new hotels, the most luxurious and modern at that time. There were nightclubs, shops, markets, expensive private villas.

But the year 1974 came, a military coup took place in Cyprus, committed by Greek nationalists who dream of reunification with the metropolis, in response to it, the Turkish army landed on the island and occupied its northeastern part. Including, Varosha fell under Turkish occupation. The Greek population left the area in a hurry, leaving inside things, furniture, everything, everything, everything acquired by overwork. Then it seemed to them that they would return here in a few days. But 37 years have passed, and the city is still empty.

The Turkish army cordoned it off, surrounded it with a fence and established observation points around the perimeter. In addition, there are UN posts inside. In general, hundreds of people are guarding an absolutely empty city for no reason.

IN Lately there are plans to transfer Varosha to the Greek side for resuscitation here as a world-class resort on the condition that most of the jobs there will go to Turkish Cypriots. However, so far these are only plans, and when their implementation will begin is unknown.
And now there is only one hotel inside this area. It houses a rest home for officers of the Turkish army.

There are stories on the Internet that life in Varosha froze in 1974, that there is still furniture in the hotel rooms and rooms of private houses there, shops are full of goods, and on the tables there are plates of food left by Greeks fleeing in panic during war.
But this is completely untrue. Rather, it was all true, but in 1977, 3 years after Turkish invasion, when the Swedish journalist Jan Olaf Bengtson visited Varosha, the words from whose article are still quoted on many sites and in many reports.
But in more than thirty years, things have changed a lot. Now Varosha is absolutely deserted. Everything that could be taken out of there, everything was taken out. Moreover, both the Turkish military and the former Greek population of the area (few people know, but former residents are allowed to be inside from time to time).

It must be said that the ghost town of Varosha is not limited to a fence with warning signs on it. Abandoned in 1974, houses are found on the way to it, they surround the area, as satellites surround the planet. Moreover, it is completely incomprehensible why one house is abandoned, and the other is not. It's not just a matter of property rights (the Turkish population in 1974 carried out many squatting of residential and administrative buildings).

Detached abandoned office building

Most of the surroundings of Varosha looks very unpresentable. However, the opposite also happens. For example, we went to the fence of this area along a busy city street with administrative and office buildings on it. We walked and walked and suddenly noticed that behind the roundabout ahead we could already see houses with empty windows and a fence.

And it's not easy to do! The fence swings a lot. Sometimes he goes around buildings and entire blocks of residential buildings, digging his teeth into the body of a dead city.
Since 1974, two generations of people have grown up here for whom this state of affairs is commonplace, who are used to not looking at the other side of the fence at all, ignoring the existence of the dead Siamese twin of their native Famagusta. Therefore, our appearance on these is not at all tourist streets piques interest. True, silent. People stealthily stare in our direction, trying not to betray their curiosity, and shrug their shoulders, completely unaware that we have forgotten here.

I have already said: everything that could be taken out of the district, everything was taken out. But this cannot be said about the surrounding areas. Here the streets are full of half-rotten cars that last time moved from a place in the notorious 1974 year. And in one of the alleys, we were lucky to find several boxes with empty bottles from foreign soda, standing still for 37 years.

Some collectors would bite their hand off for this treasure, but here no one cares about them. The bottles have long been filled with rainwater. And some drinks, the labels of which are pasted on the container, no longer exist at all!

What a flimsy fence. Storm tells me. - It's easy to jump over.

But I didn't have to jump. In one of the dead ends, near some warehouses, I find a decent size gap between the bars of the fence.
- Climb! - I offer Storm and Fomka, but for some reason they refuse.
OK! I take off my bag and climb into the gap myself.
From this gap, a barely noticeable path goes deep into the quarter.
In general, there are several photos and video reports on the Internet from stalkers who managed to walk along the streets of Varosha. Apparently, I found just one of the entrances inside, which they use.
It’s scary to go further on my own, I don’t know any rules of conduct here, or safe paths, I don’t know anything at all. Therefore, I take a photo for memory and return to the "mainland".

Mission accomplished! I was in Varosha!

For a note. Fortunately, I did not dare to go further. Upon arrival, I found the place of my entry into Varosha on Google Earth and discovered that a hundred meters from "my" hole in the fence is the main entrance to this ghost town. And there are armed soldiers. If only I could run into them! Laughter would be...

In about ten minutes we will come out along the city street just in time for this post. I will go straight to the dugouts with soldiers armed with machine guns, we will meet eyes, I will take a minute to look at the street, blocked by a barrier, going inside the district, turn around and go further along the fence.

In another five minutes we will reach the central stadium of Famagusta, located on the very outskirts of the dead city.

Cathedral in the background, despite the good appearance located in a fenced area

We pass through the stadium and find ourselves in a line of sight from famous beach palm beach. From here you can already see three skyscrapers near the seashore, once former hotels, and now being " calling card» Varosha. Their image is replicated in all articles devoted to this amazing place.

Himself Palm Beach Hotel is currently under renovation. However, the beach at its foot is quite accessible to visitors. There are modern sunbeds, a shower, a changing room, a cafe. And all this right next to the fence, behind which are empty hotels.

But first we do not go to the beach itself, but to the old dilapidated pier, protruding from it into the sea.
There are already a dozen people on the pier. Mostly local. All of them are photographed against the backdrop of the sea. We don't give a damn about the sea. We take pictures against the backdrop of abandoned hotels lined up along the shore.

Wow! Storm says as he sees the panorama from the pier. He only knew about Varosha that this area exists. And our walks along the fence with one-two-story houses on the other side did not inspire him much. And here is such a sight!

We go down from the pier to the beach. It's time to swim in the sea again. Moreover, such beauty around!

On the beach, I hear Russian speech out of the corner of my ear. Judging by the accent, Moscow. I go up to them, say hello, ask if they paid for the sunbed, and if so, how much.
- Two euros. - Muscovites answer. Now it is clear how much money the infrastructure is supported on the beach.
No! No loungers! Let's settle on the sand.
Ah, what sand there is! Small, clean, pleasant to the touch. Now it is clear why this resort was so popular in its time. With such wonderful sand! I read on the Internet that the sand here is one of the best on the entire Mediterranean coast.

After swimming, I walk along the shore to the very fence that blocks the beach perpendicular to the water and separates the living city from the dead. Above this fence rises the outpost of the Turkish army.

I look at the ruined buildings on the other side of the fence, the washed-out beach and shore, glance at the booth, wondering if anyone is watching me now. Like no one.
But this serene silence ends when two Czech guys come up to the fence and try to take a couple of pictures.
- Do not take pictures! - Shouts a man in military uniform who suddenly appeared in the window of the observation post. The Czechs dismount and leave quickly.
- Why not take pictures? - I interfere. - The Internet is full of photos of Varosha.
"Then why do you need another one?" - The soldier counters me imperturbably.

I return to my friends. We bask in the rays of the setting sun for some time, take pictures against the backdrop of dead hotel buildings, then we get ready and go to look Old city Famagusta, it's still light. We didn't manage to do it yesterday!

Ask me, how did you end up in Cyprus? And what did I forget at the resort in December? As if by chance, fate brought it :) I rested myself, as it turned out to be warm, on an island in the Mediterranean Sea. Entry here is visa-free, Turkish Cypriots do not stamp their passports, only on a separate piece of paper. On Greek Cyprus I didn’t go, I don’t have a visa, and I just flew here for 3 days ... But I visited Levkosha, where the border of two parts of Cyprus passes, and walked around the no-man’s buffer zone. Follow my movements online better on Instagram, and a long report in LJ will be later ..

Of course, there are a lot of observations, comparisons Turkish Cyprus with Montenegro. But first of all, I’ll tell you about Famagusta, or rather about part of the city - the once famous resort of Varosha. Now it's a ghost town. My feeling from him was like this - "Did I end up in Chernobyl?" 4 km of the coast is an abandoned resort, the war of 74 years between the Turks and the Greek Cypriots is to blame. Now control belongs to the Turkish army and the UN.

Varosha is a quarter in Famagutsa ( on the map). Before the Turkish invasion, he was popular tourist place, it was compared with Monte Carlo, Hollywood stars came here to relax. And now there are dilapidated hotels, private apartments affected by marauders, abandoned cars in garages, etc.

We took a guide in a car to drive around the sights. I burned all the way :)

- How many brothels do you have? How much money can you buy a girl forever? Show me the brothels as we drive by.
- There are 39 of them. All the girls work according to permits, everything here is civilized and according to the law ....

The first thing that interests me in the tour is the dead city, the rest is secondary. I want to get behind the barbed wire
- It's unrealistic. Need permission. There is an army there.
- I don't care. There must be a passage.

She later admitted that I was the first in her 12-year experience in tourism who asks to see such strange places. I felt sorry for her even before the trip :) Then I confessed to her that we were emigrants from Montenegro, we also work in tourism, and began to discuss our common problems. She felt a little better, but when she took us to Varosha, she kept apologizing that she couldn’t park the car close, which takes us a long walk from Famagusta.

- Don't you see? I am NOT in heels. I knew where I was going, and I couldn't take a walk.
- Do not take pictures of the military with machine guns. You will be asked to delete the photo.
- OK, I answer. And I take out my iPhone again. Well, I don’t have a super device with a lens, no one will understand what I’m doing with the phone.

Just on that peninsula with a house, a soldier with a machine gun was walking, looking sideways in our direction.

In the 1970s, Famagusta was the main tourist center in Cyprus. Among the stars who attended were Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Raquel Welch and Brigitte Bardot.

There are really amazing sandy beaches. I was somewhat reminded of the Velika Beach beyond Ulcinj in Montenegro.

And now in Northern Cyprus, military installations and a 50,000-strong army are everywhere. The sight is strange, given the 1.5 million influx of tourists a year, as in Montenegro. But we do not have frightening people in uniform on military vehicles.

I heard stories from locals, how people got married, flew away to Honeymoon, returned - but they are no longer allowed to go home! Hotel owners were left without a business in an instant ...

When you are in the center of Famagusta, you see a lively city, cafes, tourists. As soon as you drive off to the beach, the trash begins.

On August 15, 1974, the Turkish army invaded Famagusta. G the river inhabitants of the prosperous resort of Varosha fled from the Turkish invaders, leaving everything as it is: unwashed dishes on the table, hanging laundry on the ropes, cool cars in the garages. The town of 16,000 was empty, numb, as if it had not been on east coast Cyprus.

Now it's a monument civil war. It is almost impossible to get behind the barbed wire. Once a year, local residents are allowed to pick up personal belongings and look at housing.

When you walk along the sea to Varosha, there are few people on the streets.

It's funny how the Turks haven't removed the Greek inscriptions yet. Or maybe they left it especially for rare individuals.

In these white skyscrapers, the military is waiting. And in the distance you can see the blue hotel Palm Beach, it works as a casino and a hotel.

We saw a lot of people coming out of there. Maybe there was a conference, maybe they left the casino ... All life ends behind its walls and 4 km of dead silence begins.

I imagine the thoughts of vacationers splashing in this pool with a depressing panorama.

Although not everything is so sad here. There are even street cafes, on the ground floor of that white building - a gym. So, 100 meters from Varosha, life goes on in the usual rhythm. After all, 40,000 students study in Famagusta, they + the military have become a kind of substitute for tourists.

People also give birth to children, but it’s impossible to get married in a nearby Orthodox or Catholic church - they are abandoned.

According to UN Security Council Resolution 550, adopted in 1984: "Attempts to settle any part of the Varosha quarter by anyone other than its inhabitants are unacceptable." That's how it stays abandoned. The Turks put their own and Cypriot flags on the beach and are unlikely to go to peace with their Greek Cypriot neighbors, who also have part of the city of Famagusta.

And this appendix, once a fashionable resort, as a reminder of the history of 40 years ago.

In the distance - a long building, Greek Cyprus begins immediately behind it. Recently, the Turkish Cypriot leader proposed to return resort town. Then the Greek Cypriots did not agree. Now they are ready to take away Varosha, but the Turkish Cypriots demand in exchange for a ghost town permission to conduct direct trade with all EU member states.

Previously, there were 109 hotels with 11,000 beds. Part of the hotel complexes of Varosha is still legally the private property of citizens from 20 countries of the world. One of the hotels started working just 3 days before the tragic events. According to Cypriot economists, the real estate of Varosha (hotels, villas, land) can be estimated at 2 billion pounds

Some philosophical this place. It does not lead to fear, but rather bewilderment, why for 40 years people have not been allowed into their house, why was it necessary to ruin luxury resort... Yes, this is politics, I understand.

Here was a city, here was a resort...

There is such a thing in Northern Cyprus famous place- Famagusta. Once there were the best beaches on the island, and real estate in the fashionable Varosh area is the most expensive in Cyprus. But that was once. Now Varosha is a dead city, which ABSOLUTELY all the inhabitants have left and in which it is strictly forbidden for anyone to be. It is forbidden even to photograph the fence and what is visible through the fence, under the threat of imprisonment!

Everything that is on this moment- the result of confrontation between greed and pride. And we are not talking about ancient times, but about the 20th century. First, a coup d'etat took place in the country and the president was removed from power. Then another state brought its troops into part of its territory, annexing them and calling it a "peacekeeping operation." At the time when someone was flying into space, there was a civil war on the island. Short but tragic. As a result, divided cities, ruined destinies, unrecognized territories and a “ghost town”…

2. It can be said without exaggeration that the beaches in Famagusta are the best in Cyprus, with fine sand and clear water. The ancient Greeks were the first to appreciate this, followed by the Assyrians, Egyptians, Persians, Romans, Venetians and the longest of all the Ottomans, they already knew a lot about pleasures ...
Including for the beaches, the "tasty" island has always been the subject of claims of the closest neighbors - Greece and Turkey. This was also intensified within the island by the confrontation between two ethnic groups - Cypriot Greeks and Turks, Orthodox and Muslims. However, ethnic differences did not prevent the locals from living peacefully side by side, growing olives together and building their own state. Independence from Great Britain, which since 1925 considered Cyprus its colony, a small but proud country received in 1960.
In the presence of such a nature and climate, it is logical that tourism has become the main branch of the Cypriot economy. Literally in a matter of years ancient port in the southeast of the island of Famagusta (Greek Ammochostos, Turkish Gazimagosa), stretching for 4 km along the coast of the bay of the same name, became fashionable resort. Especially famous for its modern prestigious quarter on the coast - Varosha (tour. Maras). In addition to nature, Famagusta had something else to surprise tourists: the remains of ancient Salamis, the largest Hellenic policy in Cyprus, a Venetian fortress, an Armenian monastery, several Gothic churches. All this, together with the climate, sandy beaches And mediterranean sea it turned out to be enough for Varosha to transform into the local Cote d'Azur.

3. This is what Famagusta looked like

4. But that was over 40 years ago... What about now? Is the surrounding ruins the very prestigious resort?

5. Now it bears the name - the “dead city” of Famagusta ... Although, in fact, Famagusta is by no means a dead city - tourists relax on the beach next to the boundary fence and look through the lenses of its suburb of Varosha, which was once a fashionable resort with mainly Greek population, and now a "ghost town", a clear evidence of the contrast and advantage of "legal" Cyprus over "illegal", is guarded by the Turkish army and is a restricted area.
It became...

6. It was...

7. In 1974, the Greek military attempted a coup d'état, as a result of which they established the dictatorship of "black colonels" in Cyprus, which became a convenient excuse for Turkey to send its troops to the island. The Turks claimed to occupy about 30% of the island (this is exactly the ratio of Greeks and Turks that existed at that time). But in three days, Turkish troops occupied almost 40% of the territories, including Famagusta and Varosha. One of the results of the island's division into Turkish and Greek halves was the appearance of a "ghost town" on its map. Dozens of high-rise hotels, sanatoriums, residential buildings and private villas in an instant were abandoned, surrounded by barbed wire and placed at the disposal of marauders and nature for many decades.
View of Varosha from the beach. You can still get here. Under the two flags of Turkey and the unrecognized republic of Northern Cyprus, a post where a sentry usually sits.

8. Dividing green grid and warning poster. Entrance to the closed area is allowed only to the military of Turkey and the UN.

9. This is a former postcard view of the current ghost area, which is visible from the beach of the open part of Famagusta. Aspelia hotels, Florida, TWIGA residential complex and Salaminia hotel... Concrete boxes with empty eyeballs of floors - this is how they look now.

10. Tourists from all over Europe rushed to Varosha, celebrities acquired mansions. One could only dream of buying property in this area. The quarter was the economic center of the Famagusta region and the entire southeast of the island. His hotels were so popular that the most fashionable rooms were booked by the prudent Germans and the British right up to ... until 2007 (!!!).

11. Golden Sands, Grecian, Argo, King George, Asterias - these and other hotels of Varosha, lined up along the main avenue named after John F. Kennedy, formed the new modernist face of Famagusta. The infrastructure developed rapidly, trying to meet the needs of the wealthy public - luxury apartments, expensive shops, recreation areas. From all this now only old bright postcards remain, which tourists, who saw the golden decade of the city, managed to buy as a keepsake or send to relatives who were not lucky to be in Varosha.

12. Fences are laid along former beach and go to sea.

13. Fences and barbed wire everywhere.

14. Not only the streets, but also the buildings are divided. On opposite sides of the border.

15. Famagusta was in the Turkish sector, and Varosha, its resort area, closely joined the "Green Line", a buffer demilitarized zone controlled by UN troops and dividing the island into Greek and Turkish parts. They lived in Varosha and owned most of the hotels here, mainly Greeks - for them the war for Cyprus ended almost overnight. 109 hotels and residential complexes of the district, capable of accommodating about 11 thousand guests, were immediately empty.

16. Local residents (and there were more than 35 thousand of them at that time) for a rapid evacuation, and in fact, flight, were given 24 hours to leave the city. They left, being completely sure that they would return in a maximum of two weeks. But now 40 years have passed since then, a whole generation has grown up, and the opportunity to re-enter native home none of them have yet appeared.

17. There is evidence that this area was subjected to total looting, since it was here that the main center was concentrated beach tourism the whole island and rich Greeks lived in their villas. All of them leaving the city during the day, the Turks were allowed to take with them only what could fit in two bags.

18. All gas stations in Famagusta belonged to the Petrolina company, the Greek oil monopoly of those times.

19. Partly dividing Cyprus " green Line" is a series of metal barrels. For 40 years, they managed to rust, and the dividing line of the island itself is not so insurmountable - after the entry of Cyprus into the EU, the EU law on free movement was extended to the island, after which three additional checkpoints were opened between south and north. People who had not seen their own homes since 1974 got the opportunity to return to their native quarters at least for a while.

20. Abandoned houses are gradually surrendering under the onslaught of lush vegetation. Already not only the poster forbids the entrance to the yard, but the prickly pear has stood up like a mountain.

21. Fences are not so impregnable, but penetration into the adjacent territory can be tragic.

22. From the memoirs of participants in the events: “August 14, 1974. At 08:00 in the morning, the Turks began to bomb the Cypriot capital and international Airport. Famagusta was shelled from the sea, the Turks launched an offensive from the bridgehead in Kyrenia on the road to Nicosia and further to Famagusta. The Turks moved quickly without encountering strong resistance. They captured the international airport near Nicosia and 2 days later reached the border of the division of Cyprus (the Attila line) previously proposed by the Turkish government. At the same time, they managed to establish control over the ports of Famagusta, Bogaz and Morphou. On August 17, the Cypriot government announced that Turkish troops occupied about 40% of the island's territory. About 200 thousand Greek Cypriots were expelled from their homes in northern Cyprus. More than a thousand of them are still missing.”

23. These houses will also soon become "missing", maybe not missing, after all, somewhere the plans of the streets have been preserved, after all stone Age, but irrevocably.

24. Although Varosha was bombed, but not much, apparently, only for warning. But she became a victim of total looting by marauders. First of all, these were the Turkish military, who took away furniture, televisions and dishes to the mainland. Then the inhabitants of the nearby streets, who stole everything that the soldiers and officers of the occupying army did not need. Turkey was forced to declare the city a closed zone, but this did not save the area from total looting: everything that could be carried away was taken away.

25. According to some analysts, the Turks did not dare to settle in Varosha, because almost all the real estate here belongs (still!) to Western capital, and not to the Greeks. They did not want to develop a conflict with the West, but they are in no hurry to give up the territory, leaving it as an element of bargaining in the negotiations.

26. And the negotiations were not alone. They go constantly. But the whole problem is in the document adopted in May 1984 by the UN Security Council - Resolution No. 550, which, in particular, states: "Attempts to populate any part of the Varosha quarter by anyone other than its inhabitants are unacceptable."

27. And where are the former residents? Someone settled in the southern part of the island, someone moved to mainland Greece, someone immigrated to the UK and the USA. Return? They probably would have wanted to, but what, who can restore it, and is there really any point ... Only the former refugees themselves can answer this.

28. In 2004, after the accession of Cyprus to the EU, the border between the north and south of the island became more transparent. Many Greek Cypriots went to the Turkish side to see what had become of their houses. There were cases when people returned things and family albums to each other ...

29. Unlike many other places in Cyprus where the abandoned houses of the Greeks were occupied by their Turkish neighbors or migrants from Turkey (the Greeks call them Anatolian settlers), the Turks from Famagusta did not settle Varosha. In the form in which the Greek Cypriots once left it, it appears before us even now, as a terrible monument to the civil war that divided binational Cyprus.

30. The city is frozen in time, which is ruthless to it

31. Although, officially Varosha cannot be photographed, but many people secretly take pictures of it, and there is evidence that Turkish sentries themselves contribute to this for a “small reward”. Well, those who still managed to visit there and not get caught by Turkish patrols speak of complete desolation and devastation. What can be seen from behind the fence. Few people know about this, but former residents there are sometimes allowed to go inside there. Well, it is clear that everything that was left was taken there. Moreover, even one hotel operates in Varosha. This is a rest home for officers of the occupying Turkish army.

32. What can be observed here now makes a strange impression. By the way, near the city hall of Famagusta, there is a steam locomotive on the rails. It turns out that in Cyprus there was Railway and she led here. But… Varosha became a ghost, and so did the road.

33. Tourists appear here regularly, and therefore the locals perceive them without surprise. But they warn that those who are caught in the Zone will face a fine of 10,000 euros, or even arrest. You see, in front of the still decent-looking Volkswagen, there are posters on the fence: “Forbidden Zone” or “Know Photoz, Know Cameras”. And these are not horror stories. A striking example. In Famagusta, at the beginning of October 2016, in the vicinity of the Palm Beach Hotel, a Russian was arrested by the Turkish military police for ignoring the ban on taking pictures of the closed area of ​​Varosha by the Turkish military police. The detainee was released on his own recognizance with a bail of 1,500 euros. The suspect is awaiting trial and faces a sentence of 5 years in prison if found guilty of photographing a military zone.

34. The network stubbornly cites the story of the Swedish journalist Jan Olaf Bengtson, who visited the closed area with UN soldiers and was the first to call Famagusta a “ghost town”, about laid dinner tables, linen that is still drying on clotheslines in some places, price tags in shops and bars in 1974. But it was written in 1977!!). They just forget about this. In fact, in Varosha, everything except rusty scrap metal, collapsing concrete, and flooded all the vegetation is gone.

Photo from here

35. On the border street you can also find this - in fact, the remains of the skeleton next to completely "live horses".

35. It is difficult to get used to the view of the city divided right along the street. But even in such a fairly devastated form, Varosha has a lot of interesting things, including for connoisseurs of the "abandoned". For example, cars from the 1970s abandoned in garages and on the streets (including a whole fleet of Toyotas in a former dealership). But, alas, it is now much easier to get into Pripyat, occupied by radiation, than into the quarters of Varosha.

36. On the one hand, a fence made of barbed wire, in some places already thoroughly crumpled, behind which there are residential buildings and roses grow, and on the other - almost the same houses, near which the Turks sit and swarthy children run.

37. Oddly enough, but there is an opinion that mainly the Greeks benefited from the division of Famagusta. Until 1974, the most famous resorts were on the Turkish side, but even the unrecognized status of the TRNC proclaimed in 1983 did not help attract tourists to this part of the island. A prime example of this is the former fishing village Ayia Napa on the Greek side, which has become the tourist center of Cyprus, and the once fashionable Varosh has become a "ghost town".

38. According to experts, alas, many buildings in Varosha are no longer amenable to reconstruction and restoration. 40 years of oblivion, the consequences of the actions of the military and marauders, the weather and nature pass a harsh sentence on the area. Even in the event of normalization of the situation on the island and the return local residents home, a significant part of the houses, especially high-rise ones, will have to be demolished here.

39. It is estimated that 100 billion euros are needed to restore Varosha. It is clear that it is almost impossible to find such money, and an alternative project has recently appeared. At the beginning of 2016, in the village of Derinya, from where the full scope of the disasters in Varosha is visible, the Ecocity project was presented - a new eco-city in the place of the "dead". The initiator is director Vasia Markides, a Cypriot whose family fled from Varosha to the United States in 1974. The plan for the restoration of the region, of course, is very approximate, since specialists do not have access to the site of the planned construction. By promoting the project, they believe that they will be able to accelerate the revival of the resort. But whether it will be, and most importantly - when, no one knows!

40. Attempts to solve the problem of the so-called Northern Cyprus each time run into one problem: the Turks insist on the recognition of the independent state of the TRNC, the Greek Cypriots recall their property left in the occupied territory.
#ButCyprusTurkish