Our ninth day started off early again with an 8am bus ride to the city of Famagusta, in the Turkish-controlled northern part of Cyprus. We had to stop at a security checkpoint when we crossed from the Greek side to the Turkish side of the island, and we also saw lookout posts on both sides of the U.N. buffer zone as we were driving through. We also were not allowed to take pictures of any Turkish military installations, which created a serious atmosphere over the group. In Famagusta, we saw the abandoned district of Varosha, where during the invasion of 1974 the Turkish army forced residents out of their homes and fenced off the whole area. These people were not allowed to come back, and the district was never reinhabited, making it a ghost town. Up until recently, the area had been closed off to the public, but we were some of the first to be able to walk through the streets of the abandoned neighborhood. It was pretty eerie walking down the street with no cars, deteriorating buildings all around, the sound of birds amplified by the silence, and barely any other people with us. 

After the short walking tour of the abandoned district, we visited the medieval part of Famagusta. This area is surrounded by the old Venetian walls that were able to withstand the Ottoman’s siege for 11 months back in the 16th century. We saw St. Nicholas’ Cathedral, which was turned into a mosque when the Ottomans ruled Cyprus. We then had lunch in medieval Famagusta at a restaurant that served American-style food. I ordered a Cypriot pizza, which had halloumi and Cypriot pastrami on it among other things, which was pretty good. It’s interesting how they added their own international flair to classic American dishes.

After lunch, we left Famagusta and the Turkish-controlled part of Cyprus to spend time at the town of Protaras’ beach, on the east coast of the island. We spent a couple of hours there, then left to see the sea caves at Cape Greco, the most southeast part of Cyprus. It was cool to see the different rock formations made by the water and wind over time. Overall, it was a busy, fun, and tiring day traveling around the island.