Today I woke up and I turned 19 in Cyprus! It was so fun to experience a new place on my birthday because this is my first time being away from home for it. I loved being able to spend my day with my friends and exploring Famagusta area. It was a long bus ride from Limassol to Famagusta. During the ride we got to hear from Georgia, our tour guide, about the history of when Turkey took over the Northern part of Cyprus. Turkey tried to invade Cyprus about 10 years before they were success. In 1974, they were successful. It was considerable loss of life with displacement of 1/3 population. The UN said Famagusta should be given back to the owners then 1 year later blundered by the army. They opened every shop and hotel and emptied everything to which they sold everything back in Turkey. They didn’t touch banks but then took cash and made enclosure in Famagusta that only army could enter. This practically inhabited Famagusta. The history of this invasion is interesting to me because it is so recent.

Walking around Varosi and Famagusta was definitely unlike anything I have ever seen before. It was shocking to see how run down and abandoned it actually was. Our tour guide, Georgia, lived through this invasion in Famagusta. As she was talking about her experience it was emotional for me because you could tell how much her and her family were affected for the rest of their lives. The most interesting thing that I observed was all of the shops and tourist destinations that are now abandoned. Considering Famagusta was such a beautiful city and tourist destination it is devastating to see how it was affected. It is hard to imagine what those streets before looked like. Listening to Georgia while touring Varosi and Famagusta was my favorite part of this trip so far because I got to see one of the most important parts of their history with my own eyes. 

Then we got to spend the rest of the day at the breathtaking Fig Tree Bay which is ranked #3 beaches in the whole world. The day was ended with some gelato. This was a perfect day for my birthday!!