11/8/2005: Varosha, ghost city of Cyprus

[Undertoad]

Imagine a beautiful beachfront city on the shores of a European island in the Mediterranean. Imagine if, one day 30 years ago, everyone suddenly up and left and nobody returned.

Blogger Michael Totten is living in Lebanon for six months. For visa purposes he had to go to Cyprus for a short while. He took a few shots of the city above and tells us what happened there:

In 1974 the Turkish military invaded and carved up the island. Greek Cypriots in the north were forced to move south side of the line. Turkish Cypriots from the south were forced to move north. Greek Cypriot citizens in Varosha fled the Turkish invasion in terror. They expected to return to their homes within days. Instead, the Turks seized the empty city and wrapped it in fencing and wire. They forbid anyone from entering it to this day.

But Totten was taking a chance, taking that picture:

Photographing the dead city is not permitted. But if no one is watching there is nothing to physically stop you... just as I snapped a picture of the skyline of Varosha, a Turkish military patrol came around the corner on the other side of the fence and saw me with my camera. The driver of the jeep slammed on his brakes... I had to get out of there fast before they confiscated my camera.