Still in the northern part of Cyprus, we reached Varosha, a suburb of Famagusta. It was once the number-one tourist destination in Cyprus. Many new high-rise buildings and hotels were constructed in the area. Between 1970 and 1974, it was one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world and was a favourite for celebrities as Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Raquel Welch, and Brigitte Bardot.
During the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, its Greek Cypriot inhabitants fled, and it has remained abandoned ever since. Only in 2017, entry to parts of Varosha was opened to civilians.
At the entrance to the area, you can rent bikes or scooters or even golf carts to explore the area. We had chosen bikes, which was much better than walking around in the heat.
We were only allowed in part of the area, which was already huge. There are some sections of the beautiful beach now open again for tourists, with the abandoned hotels in the background. When Edi stepped off the beaten track, a huge snake fled and left him in shock. Would be interesting to see what kind of wildlife exists in that area.
When we later drove to the border between the 2 parts of Cyprus, we had abandoned houses next to the road for many kilometres.
We knew that entering the Republic of Cyprus from the north is considered as illegal, but a nice lady administered our entrance by checking the car and filling out a paper with many copies. As long as we leave Cyprus again, we were welcome.