Welcome to the Return to Varosha, MSN Group

Famagusta developed to the south of the old town, in the area of the relatively new town of Varosha, with its long beach backed by modern hotels.Today Varosha is no more than an empty ghost town. It lies in a UN zone between the Republic of Cyprus and the occupied areas, and is presently occupied by the Turkish Army. As the occupants fled from the fighting of the Turkish invasion, Varosha remained empty as it became part of an eery no-mans-land between makeshift borderlines. Washed clothes were left drying on washing lines - electric lights were left burning for years until the bulbs finally failed. Varosha remains a bargaining counter - a symbol of the madness and the tragedy of those awful summer days of 1974

"I opened the e-mail message and audibly gasped. Staring back was a photo of me as a 2-year-old, a photo I had not seen in 32 years. Apparently, under the cover of night, someone was able to enter the house I grew up in, in the fenced in city of Varosha, Cyprus -- a ghost town, frozen in time since the day in August of 1974 when the Turkish troops marched in and we had to flee in panic. The stranger was able to trace me through an Internet site run by people in love with the city and yearning for the day of its return. He was anxious to find "the child with the piercing eyes," said his message. For a moment the ringing phones and clients on hold had to wait. This was my past calling, and I had to take the call"..

 Andreas Charalambous - The Washington Post