While not universally recognized as their own country, the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” (“TRNC”) has occupied over a third of Cyprus since 1974. Previous to the division, the Greek and Turkish Cypriots coexisted throughout the country–but today we saw the post-invasion reality of war, displacement, loss, and much more.
We began to build our understanding of this aspect of Cypriot history by learning of the Ottoman siege of the city of Famagusta in 1570-71. The fortified walls of Famagusta allowed for those inside to show valiant efforts in resisting the siege, and they held out for 11 months before being overcome by Ottoman forces. With this invasion, those previously living in the city were forced to leave and told to make settlements outside of the walls. Nowadays, these settlements are identified as Varosi, which essentially means suburb, and over time this area grew to be full of hotels, restaurants, beaches, shops, and clubs. This vibrant area attracted large numbers of tourists as well as numerous famous performers proving its importance and success. Unfortunately, with the Turkish invasion of 1974, the area was ravaged and abandoned becoming what is still now a ghost town. Today we traveled northeast from Limassol to Famagusta and Varosi to visit these locations.
Given Famagusta and Varosi are on within the territory of the “TRNC”, visiting them required crossing into the North which was an experience in itself. Visitors must first cross through a Republic of Cyprus checkpoint where our passports were collected and checked the first time. Following this, visitors must drive through the buffer zone that is under the control of the UN and consists of uninhabited land. On the other side of the zone is the “TRNC” checkpoint where passports were once more collected and checked and, given we were a large group, an escort supplied by the “TRNC” boarded our bus to stay with us until we returned to the other side. We later learned that the purpose of the escort is to essentially monitor what is said to large groups and report anything viewed as propaganda to have it appropriately delt with according to their procedures. The idea of crossing between the two sides of Cyprus is relatively new as from 1974-2004 there was no connection between the two sides and since 2004 checkpoints have only gradually become available. The whole process of crossing into the occupied land took about 20-25 minutes and no photos were allowed throughout this process. It is also worth noting that if someone has a local sim card and therefore local plan for their phone, as soon as they cross into the buffer zone their phone will no longer have cell connection.
Upon entering the occupied area, we first went to Varosi to see the ghost town that remains as a memory of what used to be. Despite having seen pictures of the buildings, my expectations were not close to what we saw, and I don’t think that anyone could truly comprehend what the area is like without being there. Being enveloped by the abandoned homes and buildings forces a much deeper impression of the historical importance of the sector because it exists beyond what you see and extends to the eerie and solemn feeling that you get from standing amongst the fallen and empty structures. I still can’t fully process the true significance of what we saw, and I can only imagine how difficult it is to see the area being a citizen of Cyprus or even more so someone who was displaced from that area.
Entering Famagusta had a much different feel from Varosi. The impact of the 1974 invasion remains incredibly visible in the city as everything is written in Turkish, Turkish Lira are used as currency, and it is evident that it is separate from the South. However, when comparing Famagusta to Varosi, Famagusta retains the life and vibrance that Varosi so obviously lacks. The city has busy restaurants and stores and there is activity all throughout. Even outside the official city walls the port is active and everything was moving at a rather typical pace. I found that Famagusta was evidence of Northern Cyprus moving on from the invasion while Varosi was evidence that life had stopped for many now living in Southern Cyprus as a result of the invasion. This difference was mentally tasking to try to make sense of, and the complexity of the history and current situation is one I doubt any one person can fully understand.
