|
Famagusta is a test for Turkey’s real will for a solution of the Cyprus problem, Mayor of the Turkish occupied town Alexis Galanos said during a press conference to announce the anti-Turkish occupation events marking the 35th anniversary since the seizure of the town by the Turkish troops. He expressed the view that “otherwise, Turkey cannot move on”.
See Photo Gallery
Since 1974
During the second phase of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus of 14 August 1974 the Mesaoria plain was overrun by Turkish tanks and in two days the Turkish Army was in Famagusta. The town had been completely evacuated by its Greek population who fled before the intervening army and after the town had been bombed by the Turkish air force.
See Photo Gallery
Unlike other parts of Northern Cyprus, the Varosha section of Famagusta was sealed off by the Turkish army immediately after being captured and remains in that state today. The Greek Cypriots who had fled from Varosha were not allowed to return, and journalists are banned. It has been frozen in time with department stores still full of clothes, now many years out of fashion, and hotels empty but still fully equipped. Swedish journalist Jan-Olof Bengtsson, who visited the Swedish UN battalion in Famagusta port and saw the sealed-off part of the town from the battalion’s observation post, called the area a 'ghost town'. He wrote in Kvällsposten on September 24, 1977), -
"The asphalt on the roads has cracked in the warm sun and along the sidewalks bushes are growing [...] Today, September 1977, the breakfast tables are still set, the laundry still hanging and the lamps still burning [...] Famagusta is a ghost-town."
Turkish Cypriots continue to live north of Varosha, especially in the walled city. These sections of Famagusta remain vibrant with many fascinating buildings. The city is also home to the Eastern Mediterranean University.
The mayor-in-exile of Famagusta is Alexis Galanos. Oktay Kayalp heads the TRNC municipal administration. There have been suggestions from the Cypriot Government to transfer Varosha to UN administration, allow the return of the refugees, and open the harbour for use by both communities. However, the Turkish Cypriot side and Turkey rejected them. Varosha would have returned to Greek Cypriot control as part of the Annan Plan for Cyprus had the plan not been rejected by Greek Cypriot voters.
The population of the city before 1974 was 39,000. Of this number, 26,500 were Greek Cypriots, 8,500 Turkish Cypriots and 4,000 from other ethnic groups. After the invasion, in 1975, the population was 8,500, all of them Turks. Today the population that lives in the town is 39,000. The number does not include the Greek Cypriot legal inhabitants but the Turkish Cypriots and settlers who live there.
The town also played host to the football clubs Anorthosis, which has many trophies in Cyprus, and Nea Salamina Famagusta. Both teams used until 1974 the stadium of the town, the GSE Stadium (Gymnastic Club Evagoras Stadium) but after the abandonment of the city the teams moved to the town of Larnaca. Both teams have also volleyball sections. Anorthosis has the most trophies in volleyball. Salamina also was until 2003 the concecutive champion of Cyprus for more than 5 years.
Due to its relative isolation and neglect over the past 30 years despite being such a historically and culturally significant city, Famagusta was listed on the World Monuments Fund's 2008 Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites in the world.
See Photo Gallery |
