Varosha, the fenced-off quarter of Famagusta

Varosha is one of the most searched-for words about Cyprus, nearly always with the label ‘ghost town’. I’d rather stick to what official sources say, because it isn’t a film set but a district with owners, a history and an unresolved dispute. Here’s what it is, what the UN and the EU have said and why I don’t present it as just another sight. The background on the town is in Famagusta.

What Varosha is

The UN describes it as the former resort town near Famagusta, now under the control of the Turkish military, and lists it as an area the UN doesn’t control. The Union of Cyprus Municipalities explains that Varosia, its Greek name, began as the suburbs where Christians lived after 1571, when they were no longer allowed inside the walls. Centuries later it held the town’s commercial centre and most of its hotels, at a time when, in 1973, Famagusta had 45% of the island’s hotel beds. That area was fenced off after 1974.

What the UN says

In 1984 the Security Council adopted resolution 550, which considers any attempt to settle Varosha with people other than its inhabitants inadmissible and calls for the area to be transferred to UN administration. Resolution 789 of 1992 is cited alongside it as setting the area’s status.

In October 2020, after an announcement in Ankara about opening Varosha’s coastline, the Council expressed deep concern and called for it to be reversed. In July 2021 it went further, condemning the announcement of a further partial reopening of the fenced-off area, calling for every step taken since October 2020 to be reversed and again stressing the transfer of Varosha to UN administration. For the history behind it, read the Cyprus problem.

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The EU’s position

The EU High Representative deplored the opening of the fenced-off area in November 2020 and recalled the status set out in resolutions 550 and 789. In July 2021 he added that the EU holds the Turkish government responsible for the situation in Varosha and called for an end to restrictions on the UN peacekeeping force’s freedom of movement there.

Can you visit?

I’ll be clear. Neither gov.uk nor the Spanish foreign ministry says which part of Varosha is open today, when or on what terms, and I have no other official source to cite. So I’m not giving visiting instructions or selling it as another day trip.

If you decide to go, you’ll enter the north at one of the crossings, the nearest being Deryneia by Paralimni, and all the rules in crossing to northern Cyprus apply. My advice is to ask locally, respect closed areas and military signs, and keep your camera away from military buildings, as gov.uk advises. What lies on the southern side, with its beaches and villages, is covered in Famagusta district.

So you do not lose the morning at the ticket office, browse tickets and tours in Varosha on GetYourGuide.

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If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Protaras for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.