A suburb of the city of Famagusta, Varosha was formally a booming tourist resort in the 1970s in the middle of the Mediterranean. A Cypriot holiday destination more along the lines of Elizabeth Taylor and Brigitte Bardot than your mates Darren, Wozza, and a girl well call Finger Cuffs. This was a classy, glamourous location filled with bars, stars, and sandy beaches. It was all these things until the Turkish invaded in 1974, and the population of Varosha sharply plummeted from around 39 000 to zero. Entrance is strictly forbidden and as a result nature has slowly encroached into the now crumbling buildings where trees and plants grow freely and, Im assuming, small Cypriot deer roam amidst the dead hotels. Also in possibly the most literal sense of carbon dating going, the car dealerships are still fully stocked with brand new and completely rusted vintage vehicles. Nearby residents claim that at night lights can occasionally be seen shining from the dilapidated ruins on the beachfront as this suburb is just being left on life support in a state of Elysium limbo.
