With Cyprus divided into the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and the Southern half of the country occupied by people of Greek descent, we have spent all of our time on the Greek side of the country. However, today we had the chance to visit the side of the country occupied by people of Turkish descent in a town known as Famagusta. After crossing the border (known as the green line) with proper identification, we noticed a sizeable military presence. There were many restricted areas that notified people we could not take photos of various areas. 

In Famagusta, the main section of the town was enclosed by a wall, built during the Venetian era. It was interesting to see how the town consisted of local shops and restaurants, along with most of the remains of the churches built in the Venetian era. The number of historic structures that were thousands of years old and simply left alone was shocking. You could practically see something from the Venetian era from anywhere you stood in the town. Aside from the preservation of the historic structures, the most imposing piece of culture in the city was the Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque. While it was constructed by the Venetians and originally used as a catholic church, the building is now used by the Turkish people as a mosque for prayer. It was great to see the duality of Turkish culture through the pastry, fashion, and coffee shops along with the architecture left untouched by Venetian roots.     

Later in the day, we visited a section of Famagusta known as Varosi, a completely abandoned town where Greeks were forced out of their community in the 70s when the Turkish people invaded. Before the Greeks were forced out, Varosi was a lively city and one of the most highly demanded places in the world for tourism. Because of the activity in the city, the beaches were lined with numerous hotels, left untouched, and run down. We gathered and deduced that the abandoned city has been untouched because people don’t want to give up the land and property that they worked so hard to build. It was sad to think that such a lively city was suddenly shut down. What confused me most was that if the Turkish people forced the Greeks out of Varosi, why were they so willing to let tourists and Greeks into the site where people’s lives were ruined? It was honestly very sad to see and think about how people who had a successful life had to simply pack up and go.

In leaving Varosi, we ran into a Greek Cypriot who asked us who we were, where we were staying, and where we were from. After some conversation, he enthusiastically told us, “This is our island, the entire island belongs to the Greeks”. He had a forceful and aggressive tone. It seemed as though he may have been a Greek that was forced out of Varosi, sitting outside the town practically waiting to go back to his possible home.