Varosha is the most famous abandoned district of Famagusta, located in the Turkish-controlled northern part of Cyprus. Before 1974 it was one of the most luxurious seaside resorts in the Mediterranean a glamorous destination with long sandy beaches, modern hotels, boutique shops and nightlife. Hollywood celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton vacationed there, and it was widely considered the jewel of Cypriot tourism.

Everything changed in the summer of 1974. After a Greek-backed coup on Cyprus and the subsequent Turkish military invasion, the entire population of Varosha fled in haste. Believing they would return within days or weeks, residents left their homes, hotels and shops behind just as they were. Instead, the area was sealed off by the Turkish military and declared a forbidden military zone. No one was allowed to live there, and property legally belonging to the Greek Cypriot owners remained frozen in time, trapped in a political stalemate.

As a result, Varosha became a unique time capsule: a modern city suddenly abandoned and never reoccupied. Hotels collapsed over the years, nature reclaimed the empty streets, palm trees grew through rooftops, and faded shop signs still hang like silent reminders of a once-thriving resort.

For nearly forty-five years Varosha remained completely closed off to the public. It became a powerful symbol of the unresolved Cyprus conflict not only physically abandoned, but politically frozen as well.

In 2020, a part of Varosha was reopened for visitors for the first time since the invasion. Today you can walk or cycle through a limited section of the district, mainly along the old beachfront and a few surrounding streets. However, many buildings remain sealed, and large parts are still restricted military territory. The city’s legal ownership is still tied to its former inhabitants, which makes reconstruction or resettlement extremely complicated.