Varosha – Explore a ghost town in Cyprus with a private guide
After the Ottoman conquest of Cyprus in 1571, Christians were expelled from Famagusta and forced to build new homes outside the walls. After independence from Great Britain, Varosha developed into a well-known tourist resort in the 1960s and 1970s. Large hotel complexes were built near the beach.
A year before the civil war and the Turkish invasion, Varosha was generating more than 50% of the island’s total income from tourism. There were now 45 hotels with more than 10,000 beds, 60 apartment hotels, almost 100 recreation centres, 21 banks, 24 theatres and cinemas and around 3,000 large and small shops. The population was just under 32,000.