Varosha: The Ghost City of Cyprus
Varosha was once the French Riviera of Cyprus, a luxurious getaway for celebrities and the very wealthy in the 1960s and early 1970s, which was built at an estimated cost of $150 Billion dollars.
During its heyday, Varosha was one of the most visited destinations in the world, replete with high rise condominiums and luxury hotels, while news ones were being built at a feverous pace as the number of tourists steadily increased. High-end shops catered to the likes of Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Raquel Welch and Bridgett Bardo, who would spend thousands on luxury goods while staying at the resort.
Some wealthy patrons would drop $10,000 or more in these high-end stores on a single weekend.
What Happened to Varosha Cyprus?
Everything changed in August of 1974, when Turkish forces seized control of Varosha, following an abortive attempt to unite Cyprus with Greece. All of Varosha’s residents fled for their lives, while tourists were denied entry into the area, looting by Turkish troops cost business owners more than $50 million dollars, including the confiscation of expensive jewelry and art.
Today, the beach resort of Varosha is completely surrounded by a ten-foot-tall chain-link fence, with guard towers at every corner, along with hourly helicopter patrols. To get inside, a person must pass three military zones in the Cypriote city of Famagusta, which is heavily guarded by soldiers and peacekeepers, including the United Nations’ security zone, which is maintained at a cost of over $57,390,000 a year.
Assuming you can gain the necessary clearance, as you walk the resort, visitors see crumbling buildings and streets badly in need of repair. Weeds and grass grow up through cracks in the pavement, while trees and shrubs that were once pristinely manicured now grow wild like a jungle. An abandoned Toyota dealership sits smack dab in the center of town, which at its peak sold more than $1 million dollars worth of cars each and every month.
Inside, the rusted bodies of Toyota sport cars litter the dealership, covered in layers of dust and grime. As for the future of Varosha, it might become a bustling beach resort yet again, now that Turkish and Cypriote authorities partially reopened beaches in 2020, allowing tourists to enter the zone in limited numbers. Rumored plans are in the works to rebuild Varosha into a vibrant eco-city resort, breathing new life into one of the most sought-after destinations of yesteryear.