Cyprus is a wonderful place: the sun shines 360 days a year, a mild climate, and helpful people. Paradise for tourists, gorgeous beaches, hotels, cozy restaurants. But each country has, as they say, its own “wailing wall”. In Cyprus, this is a demarcation line that cuts the beautiful island into two parts with a black thread: the Republic of Cyprus and the northern territory of the island occupied by Turkish troops.
Sovereign of Cyprus
The village of Famagusta arose on the ruins of the ancient Arsinoe, founded in the 3rd century. BC e. Egyptian king Ptolemy II. In 1190-1191, the ships of Richard the Lionheart were destroyed by a storm off the coast of Cyprus. The ruler of the island did not grant the British knights, and therefore Richard captured the city of Nicosia and Famagusta, and declared himself sovereign of Cyprus.
Until 1291, Famagusta was an ordinary fishing village. In 1382, it fell under the rule of the Genoese merchants, who were replaced in the 15th century first by King James II, and then by the Venetians. The city grew, became rich and overgrown with numerous legends. One of them says that many areas of the city were designed by Leonardo da Vinci; the other tells that it was here that a certain Cristoforo Moro (governor of Cyprus from 1506 to 1508) rightly accused his wife Desdemona of infidelity, strangled her and threw her into the sea. For his cruelty, Moreau was nicknamed the Moor (although the governor was fair-skinned), and he was immortalized under the name Othello by Shakespeare.
In 1750, the Venetians defended Famagusta from the Turks. The commander of the Turkish troops, Mustafa Pasha, offered the commandant, Marco-Antonio Bragadino, very favorable terms of surrender, but they were rejected. Only on August 1, 1571, when all food supplies in the city were depleted, the commandant entered into negotiations with Mustafa, who promised the defenders of the fortress a free retreat. But as soon as they came out from behind the walls, the Turks attacked them, killed many, and chained the rest to the benches of their galleys; the commandant's skin was flayed and his body was hung on the mast of the ship. The Turks settled in Cyprus until 1878. Then the whole island came under British rule, and in 1960 gained independence.
From 1960 to 1974, Famagusta grew a lot, and the Varosha quarter appeared in the southwest, which quickly became popular among tourists.
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Exodus from the North
On July 20, 1974, taking advantage of the riots in Greece and in Cyprus itself, the Turkish army invaded the island. A short but bloody war began. Shortly before the appearance of the "blue helmets" and the signing of the armistice, the Turks, among other things, managed to capture the city of Famagusta with an elite quarter called Varosha located in it - a paradise for tourists. Once upon a time, luxury rooms in Varosha hotels were reserved by Europeans for 20 years in advance. Thousands of people sunbathed on white sand beaches almost all year round. Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Raquel Welch and Brigitte Bardot came here to take a break from the hustle and bustle.
But since August 1974, tourists (and journalists) have been banned from entering the territory of Varosha - the quarter is surrounded by barbed wire and patrolled by the Turkish military.
The expulsion of local residents from Varosha took place at lightning speed. At the request of the invaders, people had to leave their homes at 24 hours, with only hand luggage (no more than two bags per person). This inhuman order (plus the confidence of the inhabitants that the world community would not support the occupiers, and they would be expelled from the island in a few hours, at most - in a day) led to the fact that everything was thrown: the linen hung out by the hostesses to dry, tied to booths, dogs, furniture, books, personal belongings. In some houses, the lights remained on, the neon signs of hotels and bars shone in a terrible, extinct night void, broken only by rare shots and shadows of Turkish marauder soldiers.
Scary "time machine"
Since then, time has stood still in Varosha, there is still 1974. For reasons that we will discuss later, the Turkish authorities stopped looting, and dresses and suits that were in fashion many years ago are still smoldering in stores. Dishes are gathering dust on the laid tables of restaurants. In the showrooms abandoned by dealers, now unique, mostly Japanese, cars still stand. Almost forty years have passed since they left the assembly line, and modest mileage figures froze on their speedometers - 20, 30 kilometers. The cars are new, but already old - a collector's dream.
Dogs have long been dead, lamps and signs burned out. In empty apartments and hotels, the wind blows torn pieces of wallpaper, and under the bright, southern sun, forgotten photographs of people who once lived happily lived fade on the floor.
Few dare to cross the barbed wire fence. But there are always brave people. Hiding from the Turkish military patrols, journalists take pictures of how nature gradually takes its toll. Bearing iron beams are gradually collapsing, roofs and ceilings are sagging. The wind rips off the tiles with a crash, opening the entrance to the relentless Mediterranean sun and occasional rain. In the courtyards, in the cracks of the asphalt, bushes grow vigorously, and sea turtles, listed in the Red Book, breed along the coast - the only ones who won in this ridiculous human dispute.
"Selfish" interests
Why do the Turks guard Varosha so carefully and do not allow her to be plundered? The fact is that this ghost town is an object of serious bargaining, a "tidbit" with the help of which the authorities of the so-called "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" are trying to achieve recognition. Legally, the question of Varosha's ownership is extremely complicated: it seems like the land on which most of the shops, temples and hotels are located belonged to Turkish Cypriots, and the buildings themselves belonged to Greek Cypriots, and this creates a certain confusion. One way or another, the Turks have repeatedly offered to return Varosha, provided that Cyprus recognizes their "northern republic".
But Greek Cypriots believe that a ghost resort is an extremely small price to pay in return for Turkey's recognition of the northern territories of Cyprus.
At the moment, the return of Varosha to the Greek Cypriots is one of the priority issues of the government of the Republic of Cyprus. It is interesting that many residents of the "North" also support the return. For example, the newspaper "Kibris", published in the occupied territories of the island, published a petition calling for the return of occupied Varosha to the Greek Cypriots. The petition describes the plight of today's Varosha, which was once one of the centers of Cypriot tourism.
But even if justice is restored, the resort's recovery miracle won't happen overnight. Not so long ago, the Cypriot authorities calculated that the reconstruction of Varosha could cost at least 10 billion euros. Therefore, the easiest way is to clean up the ghost town and build a new resort in its place.
Konstantin Fedorov