Today, our tour guide Dimitra joined us again as we traveled to the Turkish side of Cyprus known as “The Turkish Republic in Cyprus”. Most Cypriots put the name in quotes since no other country recognizes the Turkish side of Cyprus as its own state other than Turkey. In order to cross to the other side, we needed to show our passports at two checkpoints. The first checkpoint was to cross into the Green Line or Buffer zone which is a strip occupied by the United Nations or UN that runs between the two sides and spans 180 kilometers and was only a couple kilometers wide. We then had to show our passports again at the second checkpoint in order to enter the Turkish side. We then headed to the town known of Varosi which is considered the “ghost town of Cyprus”. Back during the Turkish invasion in 1974, Turkey invaded Famagusta and took control of Varosi. The Turkish army forcibly displaced all Cypriot citizens out of the town. The UN then came in in order to help resettle the displaced, but the Turkish Government would not allow this to happen since they are still trying to gain control of the town to this day. While we walked around the town it was so eerie and sad to think that it used to be one of the most popular destinations in Cyprus. I found it very strange and it felt like I was wondering around a post apocalyptic town.
The second spot we visited while on the Turkish side was Famagusta. We wandered around the old city which was surrounded by a wall. During the Ottoman Rule of Cyprus, they used it as a place of exile. For example if you spoke against the king politically or religiously you would be sent to Cyprus as a punishment. There were also lots of random ruins of castles, churches, and mosque throughout the streets. We first visited the Saint Nicolas Cathedral which had gothic French architecture. We then walked across what looked like a courtyard to the ruins of an old castle. There were tall granite columns that were brought by the French and on the inside was the a tomb for the Roman god Venus. Our tour guide explained that technically a god can’t be buried or they wouldn’t be a god. She further explained that since it was right in the front of the castle, occupiers of the castle would use it as a water trough for horses. Walking through out the old city was interesting because there were restaurants and shops placed around the ruins. It was interesting to imagine what it would have looked like during the time the castle and other ruins were intact.
Learning about Cyprus’s recent history and the conflict between the Greeks and Turks was super interesting to learn about. A very interesting thing that Dimitra explained was the reality that the Cypriots faced when they were displaced and forced to be refugees in their own country. She told us about a story of this woman who was supposed to be married the day of the invasion. Dimitra explained that the woman was forced to leave just like everyone else and could not take anything with her. She had to leave everything she owned including her wedding dress. It is so sad to think what was supposed to be one of the happiest days of her life ended up being one of the most traumatic. This happened to all the Cypriots living in the northern section of Cyprus, they couldn’t take anything. They had to leave all of their belongings including all of their pictures and memories of their lives. Dimitra also explained after the Greek Cypriots were forced to the south and the Turkish Cypriots were forced to the north, they were not allowed to have any contact with one another. It was not until 2004 that checkpoints were opened up between the north and south to the buffer zone that they could cross over. A sensitive topic for Cypriots is that they currently have to show their passports in order to cross to another section of their country. Nicosia, the capitol of Cyprus, is also currently the only divided city remaining because in order to cross from one side of the city to the other everyone including native Cypriots need to show their passports.