Today we had a long drive ahead of us, we were going all the way to the border between Cyprus and Northern Cyprus where the Greek and Turkish sides divide. This was probably the most anticipated part of the trip for me. I think the conflict between Greece and Turkey is very interesting when it comes to the divide within Cyprus. I’ve been to divided cities before like Belfast in Ireland but I’ve never been to a country with such an internal divide and getting to cross the line and see what’s on the other side really peaked my interests.

When we arrived at Varosi we crossed through the green line and were accompanied by a Turkish guard over to the ghost city. We learned that Varosi was once a modern tourist area in the Famagusta city area. During the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 Famagusta was taken under Turkish control and abandoned by all of its inhabitants. Hearing about all of this on the bus ride seemed unreal. I didn’t understand that a town could be completely abandoned. We stepped out of the car and I was blown away by how abandoned it actually was, pretty much every building in the city completely in shambles. Windows broken and nobody around. It was crazy to me that pretty much the only people present were those of us taking tours of the place. As I walked around I thought of what used to be of this place, every building served a different purpose and this was a place that many r called home. As sad as this all was, seeing what the results of this devastating conflict where I cannot deny was such an interesting and subtlety peaceful place to witness

We departed Varosi and went over to Famagusta, the city aforementioned. One thing I didn’t mention earlier is that as soon as we entered Northern Cyprus the flags switched up. Instead of being a flag of Cyprus and a flag of Greece everywhere there were flags of Turkey and of a Turkish Northern Cyprus flag. This wasn’t a particular surprise but was definitely interesting to see how just a couple hours down from where we’ve stayed these last couple days has a completely different identity isolated from Cyprus. We entered Famagusta or the walled city and we learned about the walls which were constructed by Venetians. We also learned about Famagusta falling to the British when they occupied Cyprus. We toured around the city, saw a mosque which I eventually went in. This was much larger than the last mosque, and while not as important it was still pretty awesome to continue to expand my knowledge on mosques and Muslim culture. We learned about the Tomb of Venus between the columns of Venetian Palace. These fascinating relics were left behind by people who inspired the fine arts enthusiasts of Renaissance. We also toured outside the Namik Kemal Dungeon, Namik Kemal was exiled to Cyprus by Ottoman Sultan of the time in 1873-1876. Today, the building adjacent to the dungeon is a museum dedicated to his life and his works.

We got some free time where we ate some lunch and walked around the city. We did some shopping and I was able to buy a couple of souvenirs for my family. There were many different stores all with very touristy items for sale as well as a bunch of different interesting items.

Throughout the day both Dimitra and Smaragda provided us with valuable lessons and history about Cyprus and the country. One of my favorite things they talked to us about today was about the different dialects in Northern Cyprus. Smaragda told us about how those speak a different language known as Cypriot Greek. This is a variation of Greek which is only spoken by those in Northern Cyprus and cannot be understood by those who speak Greek. The most interesting thing they told us thought the day was about the history of the buffer zone. It was very interesting to hear the way the island was divided up and everything in the middle that pretty much got left behind in the shuffle of things. I couldn’t believe learning about how the nearby towns, specifically hearing about one we drove through in the south, basically doubled in population as a result of the divide. It was really interesting to learn all of this stuff and to actually see it all as we heard about it is an incredible experience.

To briefly wrap up after crossing back over into southern Cyprus we ventured into Fig Tree Bay where we enjoyed a nice beach day where I slept the whole time and tried to get a decent tan as it was probably one of the last times I would be at the beach on this trip. Another great day in Cyprus, I will be sad to be leaving Limassol tomorrow but exited for the day ahead where we will be heading to Phaphos and Nicosia.

Thanks for reading, see you tomorrow

Will Eddis