Back in its heyday Farmagusta was the number one tourist destination on Cyprus. The early 1970s saw a boom in charter holidays and Cyprus was one on the early players in the mass-tourism marked. Pale and coldblooded northern-Europeans flocked its golden beaches, where they lived up the popular charter lifestyle. Days were spent frolicking in the blue Mediterranean waters and nights under the mirror-globe in one of Farmagusta’s lively nightclubs. Life was beautiful and the town knew the good times would roll – possibly forever.

The main tourist area of Farmagusta was the Varosha quarter. Here grand hotels flanked JFK Boulevard, with the best ones on the seaside. Varosha was the pinnacle of early European charter tourism and classy establishments like the King George Hotel, The Florida Hotel and the Argo Hotel regularly catered for European celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. There were plenty of tax-free shopping along Leonidas were also restaurants, bars and nightclubs vied for the customers. Although Varosha might not have been as classy as Monte Carlo it was a pretty darn nice spot to spend a few weeks.

All that changed abruptly 15 August 1974 when Turkish trooper invaded Cyprus in response to a Greek-backed coup (for the second time in as many months). The fighting that followed quickly attracted the attention of the international community and while the United Nations managed to separate the two nations, Cyprus was never the same again. A 180.5 kilometer ceasefire line had been drawn across the island with Varosha stuck in a demilitarized ‘no man’s land’. The town itself was abandoned when the mostly Greek Cypriots inhabitants fled before the advancing Turkish army who quickly fenced off the area and barred anyone except UN peacekeeping troops from entering. Gone were the happy pink European holidaymakers, gone was the tax-free booze and gone was Elizabeth Taylor.

Despite a number of attempts to settle the dispute over Cyprus the military restriction on the town has never been lifted. The seaside resort is still off-limit and has been left to a slow decay of time. Varosha now represents a bizarre time capsule from 1974. Hotels, houses and shops were left intact with their 70s interior and car dealerships are still stocked with the latest models. Strangely it’s still a major tourist attraction, although under quite different circumstances than its city planners originally envisioned.

Farmagusta-Varosha Cyprus July 1974