An eerily quiet seaside town on a popular holiday island has been left abandoned for over 50 years after military action forced everyone to flee. Varosha, in the Northern Cyprus city of Famagusta, was evacuated and sealed off in August 1974 during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. Around 15,000 to 40,000 residents fled in a matter of hours – believed to be the entire Greek Cypriot population who then moved to Paralimni, Dherynia, and Larnaca – now part of the Greek side of Cyprus. Since 2017, the Turkish Army has only allowed the entry of Turkish military and UN personnel.
In the early 1970s, Famagusta was the top tourist destination in Cyprus. During its heyday, between 1970 and 1974, Varosha was one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world and a favourite of celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Raquel Welch, and Brigitte Bardot. While parts of the beach and certain other areas were partially reopened to civilian visitors in 2020, the vast majority of the town remains empty, frozen in time.
