Famagusta, the walled town on the east coast

Famagusta is one of the most history-laden names in Cyprus, and one of the most searched-for. It lies on the east coast, very close to Ayia Napa and Protaras, but on the far side of the Green Line. Here’s its story as the Union of Cyprus Municipalities tells it, what’s happening with Varosha and how to get there from the south. For what changes once you cross, see northern Cyprus.

Where it is

Famagusta stands on its namesake bay on the east coast. By OpenStreetMap coordinates it’s about 10 km in a straight line from Paralimni, 16 km from Ayia Napa and Protaras and 41 km from Larnaca airport. In Greek it’s Ammochostos, which the Union of Cyprus Municipalities explains as a town buried in sand, and in Turkish Gazimağusa, as shown on OpenStreetMap. To the north-east begins the Karpas Peninsula, the long tongue of land that ends the island on that side.

It was the main town of its district, and since 1974 it has been in the part the Republic’s government doesn’t control. The rest of Famagusta district, with Ayia Napa and Protaras, is in the government-controlled area.

A port town’s story

The Union of Cyprus Municipalities admits little is known about its founding. Its great predecessor was Salamis, some 7 km to the north, and beside those ruins stands St Barnabas Monastery. The town takes shape under the Lusignans, between 1191 and 1489, when it became the economic base of their kingdom and the great port for Europe’s trade with the East. St Nicholas Cathedral dates from then, where the crusader kings of Jerusalem were crowned, and today it’s the Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque. In 1374 a Genoese fleet sacked it, and the town spent 90 years under Genoa.

Venice, which took over the island in 1489, brought in engineers to strengthen its fortifications, with Othello Tower at the harbour corner. They weren’t enough. After a year-long siege, Famagusta fell to the Ottomans in August 1571, and the Union says Christians were then barred from living inside the walls and settled outside, in suburbs known as Varosia. The island’s wider story is in the history of Cyprus.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Protaras on Expedia and filter by area before price.

From British port to tourism

When the British arrived in 1878, Famagusta had 2,000 inhabitants, according to the Union. In 1904 the harbour was improved and a railway to Nicosia opened. By 1974 the town had grown to 45,000 people, was the third largest in Cyprus and its main port, and in 1973 it held 31.5% of the island’s hotels and 45% of its beds.

Varosha

The part of town with the old commercial centre and most of the hotels was fenced off. That’s Varosha. Its status rests on Security Council resolutions that seek UN administration for it, and the Council criticised its partial reopening in 2021. I go into it in Varosha.

If you are short on time, see the best tours in Protaras and pick one that fits your day.

Getting there from the south

The nearest crossings are Deryneia, opened in 2018 by Paralimni, and Strovilia, in the British base at Dhekelia. You’ll show your passport, and a hire car needs separate insurance for the north. Lira is the currency on that side, and gov.uk warns consular help is limited. Opening times and prices for the town’s monuments are missing because nothing citable covers them. Everything about crossing is in crossing to northern Cyprus.

Where the bus does not go, a car does: compare car hire in Protaras before you arrive rather than at the desk.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Protaras on Booking.com and filter by area before price.