Today was an explore day. Unfortunately, it the last day we spent with Georgia, our wonderful tour guide of Cyprus. The city and surrounding area we toured today was Famagusta. Georgia is actually from Famagusta. Famagusta is located on the Turkish-occupied area of Cyprus, therefore, we had to cross the green line with our passports. Crossing into the Turkish side is actually very easy. The only thing that was needed was a man from the Turkish government (not sure?) had to join us on our tour. He was a nice old man.

The first place we went was the Varosi area. The Varosi area is a literal ghost town. It is a whole city that is abandoned occupants and has been that way since the Turkish invasion in 1974. Georgia told us that she lived in this city. She was even planned to get married just days after the Turkish invasion. It was crazy to see a whole city abandoned. It is still accessible to the public, but it is uninhabitable.

After, the tour took us to the real old city of Famagusta. The old city has a rich history and lots of remnants of past history. Georgia showed us an old mosque and an old Greek-catholic church. Many of the buildings in the city were just old. The port of Famagusta used to be the largest on the island of Cyprus, but no longer is since the Turks moved in.

Next, we went to Konnos Bay, and the sea caves located there. The beach at Konnos Bay was beautiful. The water was so clear that I could see my feet in the water even in chest deep water. The sea caves were an interesting site to see, as well.

After the tours today, Andreas took a few of us on a personal tour of Nicosia’s Old City. It was cool to see his perspective and input of the Old City. A small group of us had dinner with him at a spot he recommended. It was located by a park and soccer field. It was delicious.