Exploring the Abandoned Resort Town of Famagusta - Varosha, Cyprus
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- Опубліковано 23 лип 2024
- Ep.50 We bring you along on two very different tours in Cyprus. One is a food tour with Halloumi cheese making and the other is to Turkish Cyprus and the mysterious District of Famagusta. What life-changing experiences were these tours for us? Join us on our discovery of both dark and light sides of this country.
RELATED TOURS
➡️ Halloumi Heaven - Cheese Making Workshop & Troodos Villages Tour cyprustastetours.com/hh-pap/
➡️ Paphos: Choirokitia & Famagusta Guided Tour with Transfers
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➡️ MAKE HALLOUMI AT HOME: www.therecipehunters.com/hall...
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Chapters:
00:00 - Start
00:47 - Halloumi Cheese and Wine Tour
03:18 - Carob Syrup Tasting at Mastros
03:52 - Time to taste our homemade halloumi
04:31 - Visiting the Chrysoroyiatissa Monastery
04:58 - Seven wines at the Tsangarides Winery
05:42 - Tasty Treats at Aphrodite Delights
06:25 - Cyprus Taste Tours Costs
06:54 - The Famagusta Tour
08:36 - Crossing the Turkish Border
09:59 - Necropolis of Salamis and Tomb of St. Barnabas
10:27 - Roman Ruins of Salamis
12:03 - Visiting Varosha a ghost town since 1974
15:04 - Costs of the Famagusta Tour
15:39 - Outtakes (enjoy a laugh)
Finding Gina Marie is where we share our lives as full-time travelers and the connections we make along the way.
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So interesting! Thank you.
Thank you so much for watching, Erin! ♥️
Part ii
Now an adult, my soon-to-be husband and I had decided to go to Cyprus for our holiday. We got a brochure from the Travel Agents and sat staring at pictures of an impossibly blue sea, deserted beaches and buildings all painted white. After much hard thinking and choosing, We eventually plumped for resort called Fig Tree Bay in a little town called Protaras. We arrived and all that was there in Protaras, was the hotel we would be staying in, two small supermarkets, a few bars and tavernas and a pharmacy …. The internal roads were no more than rugged dirt tracks - not paved or tarmac - but to us, it was absolute paradise! The hotel was beautiful, the sea and the beach was perfection and the food was divine - we were in Heaven!
However, during the “meet n greet” held by the Hotel Tour Guide Rep, we were told about Famagusta and just how close the resort we were staying in, was to the “demilitarised zone” and that on no account was any visitor to travel to it. Also, if one was to hire a jet ski or a motor boat, to not go beyond the marker buoys in the sea because the Turkish Navy patrol the area in speedboats and will shoot first! And the Rep was being serious!
So, eager to do the “tourist bit” we decided to hire a car for a few days, so bought a good road map and went out “exploring” the island and the off road villages and beaches etc. Driving down an ordinary street, we saw a sign outside a villa inviting visitors to “come and view”. Intrigued, we went inside to meet the villa owner. He took us up to his roof terrace and told us of what had happened to him and his family on that day.
He was only a teenager, living with his parents, grandparents etc in a small rustic farmhouse in an olive grove on a remote part of the island (the grandfather and father were olive oil growers and merchants). The first that they knew of the invasion was that Famagusta had been overtaken by Turkish troops but they decided to stay where they were. Fortunately for the villa owner, they “escaped” the war but he told us that many of his father’s clients who owned restaurant and taverna businesses in Famagusta were not so lucky. At that time, Famagusta was known as the Riviera of Cyprus - rich Greek landowners and business people choosing to holiday in luxurious 5⭐️hotels and yachts on that part of Cyprus due to its beautiful beaches and nightlife.
The owner built his villa in 1989. The land he built on was just beyond the Northern Cyprus border! From his rooftop terrace, using the powerful binoculars he gave us, we could see right into the Turkish Army base. Cut into the rocks was the Turkish flag of Northern Cyprus and we could watch the soldiers (only young boys) marching in full uniform and armed with rifles, around the perimeter of the barbed wire fencing separating the two “lands”, performing a drill as if ready to fire. Every so often a warning siren would sound - the villa owner said it was done to annoy those living “his side” of the fence. He said he and all his friends and compatriots would never ever forgive Turkey for invading his country. He was grateful to the Government and people in the UK for upholding the ruling that it is still an illegal occupation. But the bitterness towards Turkey runs deep and is passed on through the future generations. North Cyprus will never be recognised as a separate country by anyone in any part of Cyprus and in Greece too.
Wow. Thank you for sharing this part ii. I love that you happened across this villa and its owner and got to hear this first-hand experience. What a powerful story. Truly, we so appreciate that you took the time to write to us about it. Our bus driver was very passionate about what happened in Famagusta as were some of the other people we encountered. We were glad to be able to walk through the ghost town and see for ourselves all this contested land, but it's frustrating that Turkey wants to develop it for their own gain and that the Greek Cypriots have lost so much. Greed and power are a dangerous combination. -Judy
This is excellent. You both do a great job, I'll have to check out your other videos. I can't wait to get to Cyprus later this year!
Thanks for watching and for your encouraging words! You might enjoy our two videos from Athens. Cyprus has a lot of similarities with Greece. -Judy
In this playlist, we have two episodes about Greece and two from there (not specifically about Greece): ua-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0EvAnWdYy22GE_jpCp5J9c.html
Excellent info...thx u!
Thanks for watching, BW!
Thank you so much. We are coming to Cyprus end of July also staying in Paphos.
How wonderful! We’d love to know what you think of it! Thanks so much for watching! -Judy
Thanks guys - I'm embarrassed to say I didn't know anything about the conflict in Cyprus either. Sad
Hi Sharon, it’s understandable. We’ve found it very interesting at how knowledgeable people are from other countries about the US’s politics and how little we know about theirs. We are trying to learn more, and that’s all anyone can ask. Thank you for watching. -Judy
Very interesting episode! When we visited Israel, and crossed into Palestinian controlled Bethlehem, we also had to have a “guide” with our group. I watched a documentary about Varosha a few years ago. What a tragedy that was.
I had never heard about this "guide" situation previously. Thanks for sharing about it being a similar situation between Israel and Bethlehem-I didn't realize it worked that way there, but I guess it makes sense. Varosha really is a tragedy. Of course when I was digging deeper, Turkey has its own story about the chain of events and it's different from Cyprus's version. Really there are no winners, unfortunately. Thank you for watching, Rebecca -Judy
I was lucky to do a tour of duty in the RAF in 1969/70 at what is now Ayia Napa. Regularly drove into the old part of Famagusta in a Morgan 4/4 and had a friendly wave with the Turkish Army guard at the old gate. He had an ex British Army Lee Enfield rifle on his shoulder but everybody knew the Turkish army would not risk giving them live ammunition.
Happy days.
Oh wow. I did not realize this. They looked intimidating enough that I wasn't going to step out of line in any way! It's a sad situation. Not sure if you saw our other video from Cyprus, which is much lighter than this one, but I'll link it below. Thanks so much for watching and for sharing your experience. Very cool. -Judy
Cyprus vlog: ua-cam.com/video/6ykKPfUZLPc/v-deo.html
I've seen many Cyprus videos, mostly modern. I preferred the island pre 1974 even though I owned a holiday flat in Ayia Napa in the 1990's. Sold in 1997.
That's fascinating. We can only go by what our modern experiences have been, and we enjoyed it. But I do think it's sometimes easy to allow nostalgia to paint an optimized view of reality. Our minds can overlook the bad stuff and only remember the good. BUT with a place like Cyprus, I can appreciate all the changes that have happened that actually may make one point in time better than another. -Judy
Good video! Varosha is indeed a sad story. Is Turkey in your travel plans for this year? I think Istanbul will make for a very interesting video, full of sights and sounds :)
Hi Mike, thanks for watching and for the comment. Unfortunately, Turkey is not in the cards for this year. We originally wanted to go early in the year, but after the earthquakes there, we wanted things to normalize a bit. It was a mistake I think, though, because we desperately want to visit there. We're a little disappointed (but not surprised) that Erdoğa was reelected, but we still are very eager to explore there regardless. Thanks for reconfirming our thoughts! -Judy
Outstanding cinematography, historical cornucopia of the region, the global connections, production, editing, all the effort and time is greatly appreciated to bring this content to the www…via UA-cam. Once again, Judy and Kevin, this unparalleled travel channel is genuine, relatable, and entertaining.
Do I hear PBS calling ;)
Thank You.
Wow, Linda, thank you so much! We have been second guessing whether this should have been two videos and whether this even is the type of video our audience wants to see. You don't know how much it means to hear your kind words. ♥️ -Judy
Big like
Thank you so much for watching! -Judy
Hello - I enjoyed watching your Vlog of Cyprus, I’ve been to Cyprus many times, it is one of my most favourite holiday destinations 😊
Before I tell you “things” about my visits to Cyprus - without wanting to be picky and annoying - I just want to say that Nicosia is pronounced as Nick oh see ahh 😉😁 incase you choose to return to Cyprus and fancy visiting the capital again, you will be able to say the name and not get “funny looks” from the locals as my husband did when he said it incorrectly when we were there!
Anyway - wasn’t wanting to cause offence etc! 😲
Living in GB, in 1974, we were all aware of the “alien invasion” of Cyprus by the Turkish army/militia …. Cyprus and the UK are allies and as you saw, there are British Military Sovereign bases there. I was 14 at the time of the invasion, living in a Garrison town. Many of the soldiers stationed there were sent out to Cyprus to try to regain power. What brought it “home to me” though, was what happened to me a few days after the invasion.
Every week, I used to go to the local indoor swimming pool for an after school swim and fun with my best friend. After finishing our swim, my friend and I would always walk to the local “fish n chippy” takeaway to get some freshly cooked chips before getting the bus home. The chip shop was manned by two young handsome and good looking but cheeky Cypriot brothers, who got to know us, because we always bought our chips there! They would try to “chat us up” in a friendly, non threatening way and it was just a “good laugh” to chat to them. The restaurant and the flat where they all lived above it, was owned by their father, who immigrated to England from Cyprus in the late 1960’s wanting to start a new life here - their father still had his elderly parents, brothers and sisters living back in Famagusta. One this “one day”, after our swimming time, my friend and I made our way to the chip shop and just happened to notice before we got to it, that the shop door was shut closed…. .? That was odd, the door was always left open and on most days, there would be a queue of people waiting outside for their food to be cooked…as we got closer, we saw a handwritten notice stuck to the window glass….and what we read made us so very very sad. It said “a war in our Homeland, we have to fight”. The two brothers and their dad had had to travel to Cyprus because the “family home” had been raided by Turkish soldiers and they were unsure if the family were unhurt or even alive! The brothers apologised on the poster and were sorry for having to “shut up shop” but to not worry, they hoped to be back soon, cooking the best fish n chips for all to enjoy… ☺️. The curtains in the above flat where Mum, Dad and the two brothers had lived were closed and stayed closed…
The weeks passed by, we still went swimming after school, but the chip shop stayed shut….After about 3-4 months, a Leasehold Sale sign was put up in front of the shop….the windows were boarded up an the door bolted shut…..A few months after that, the boards came down, the door unlocked and no longer was it “our” fish n chip shop. New owners had bought it and it was just an empty building ready for them to play with. The windows in the flat above were now open…
We never saw the two brothers again and we never found out what happened to them or their family. (And I never even bothered to find out what the “new shop” was going to be, my happy memories were of it as a fish n chip shop). I asked the owner of the sweet shop next door if they knew if the brothers had returned and they just 🤷🏽♀️ and 19 years later, I went to Cyprus and found out for myself 😥
Hi Helen, Thanks so much for watching our episode on Famagusta. I am mortified to admit that I broke down the pronunciation of Nicosia so that I would pronounce it correctly (after hearing it pronounced properly while we were in Cyprus), but my muscle memory kicked in from saying it wrong so many times and I didn't realize it in time to fix it.
Thank you for sharing this heartbreaking memory with us. The whole situation in Cyprus is tragic, but it's especially poignant when there are people you actually know who had to deal with the consequences. -Judy
❤
Hi Margit, thank you so much for watching our series from Cyprus. We would have loved to have explored more during our time there, but Kevin took a little fall and it sidelined part of our trip. He's fine, but it meant that we missed Nicosia, which I would have loved to visit. -Judy
And now for part iv!
We last visited Cyprus in 2018 - this time, for the first time, staying in Paphos in a big hotel (the previous times, with now our children in tow, we had stayed in an apartment block called The Brilliant Apartments - and they truly were! We loved it there so much, we stayed there three times!
But….over the years, Protaras had gone from the one stop top hotel and had grown like Topsy and it was now wall to wall hotels, music bars and clubs - even shock horror a MaccyD’s! 😱😖and we just didn’t like it as much anymore - it was now screamingly busy and here, I will admit, also full of those British holidaymakers who are often an embarrassment and a pain in the rear end when “holidaying abroad”🙄😡 so our new resort choice was Paphos - although we appreciated it was a very commercialised and popular resort.
The hotel we booked was quite big and had all the amenities we liked and needed. It was going to be a good holiday, we had chosen well.
When travelling “abroad” I have always made an effort to learn a few words of the language of the country I will be visiting - being able to say ‘hello, goodbye, please and thank you’ (and “how much??” 😮😁) in either French, German, Italian, Spanish or Greek helps on lots of occasions. So, having holidayed in both Cyprus and Greece, I have learned a few Greek words and greetings - just enough to “get by” without looking like a twit😎and I knew I would be able to demonstrate my “language skills” and impress the hotel staff with my half a dozen words. The funny thing is though, nearly all Cypriots can speak and understand English - it is taught in schools from aged 5! But I like to make an effort to learn a foreign language - something the British are notoriously bad at doing!!
There was however, something about this hotel that was “odd” though and I could not quite put my finger on what was different or “wrong” about the staff working in the hotel itself and the local tavernas just outside the hotel complex.
It was on the third day and it was time for a drink and a snack that we could have whilst being at the poolside. There were menus on the tables beside the sun beds, and once we all had chosen our snacks, I politely called the Pool Bar waiter over to give him our order and telling him what we would like please and I spoke using the Greek words. He just looked at me blankly and shook his head, so thinking I had made a mistake, I repeated my order in Greek for a second time but again he shook his head and then took a menu from the table and pointed his finger at me then pointed his finger at the menu choices…. So he spoke in broken English, “you pick here” - so we all pointed to the items we wanted on the menu, he wrote it on his form and walked away. It was weird, there was no “thank you” or “enjoy your meal” or anything - because usually, the Cypriot people are usually so friendly, so helpful and happy to serve the visitors and it was strange that the hotel would employ someone who was so rude. The drinks and snacks were brought to us by a different waiter, he ‘bounced’ over to us, smiling as he asked if we were having a good holiday and as he was giving us our meals, we all said “efcharisto” to him and he replied back “para kalo” back to us and a “yamas” as he said goodbye. Yes, he spoke Greek back to us!
I then realised it was because the first pool bar waiter did not understand either English or Greek! That was why he did not speak to us, he could not communicate at all with either of the languages - as neither was his first or second language.
It was two days later, whilst just chatting to one of the waiters in the Hotel bar, we were told some shocking things. The waiter said that at the end of that year’s holiday season (around October) he didn’t think he would have a job at the hotel as the hotel consortium had been “bought” by a rich Russian group, who were systematically buying as many “independent” hotels (ie not those in a hotel “chain”) in Paphos as they could and only employing fellow Russian workers to staff the businesses, because the hotel accommodation would be offered to Russian holidaymakers only. These “ogliarchs” have so much money at their disposal, they are able to just buy “what they see and when they want it”. The waiter told us that even the small bars and tavernas were easy pickings for them and were offering the taverna owners “silly money” to buy the business and it was upsetting the Cypriot people seeing their country being bought out because they know the revenue that is made will not be reinvested back to Cyprus. Paphos is a port, welcoming trade from North, South, East and West - think how much money can be made by official and unofficial enterprise?!
The waiter was unsure what to do with his life - whether to leave Cyprus and his family behind and travel to work on one of the Greek islands or stay put in the hope that he would not be forced to work “for the Russians” …. And that was when the penny dropped and I realised that some of the hotel staff were Russian employees as were those working in the taverna and they could not interact and joke with the visitors and holidaymakers for they did not have those language skills. The waiter thought that with the “Russians taking over”, it would have a nasty effect on the tourists from Europe like Britain, Germany and Scandinavia that usually visit Cyprus for their holidays - it would no longer be a holiday destination 🥺😥
This is really sad, but interesting as well. Not sure if you caught our episode from Paphos, but I'll link it below. Bear in mind that these are different times than in 2018, and there are a lot of people leaving Russia because they are not on board with the war there and do not support Putin. We had the kindest, sweetest waiter named David, who was Russian. His English was passable, but he was wonderful. He would tell us that when we sat down at the restaurant and he was on duty that he lit up because he loved serving us (we had coffee there nearly every day for a month). We felt it was very sincere. The restaurant was not Russian and he only had been working there two months before we arrived. So the circumstances were very different. I can appreciate the concern that their jobs may be in jeopardy and that no one in any country wants to see their land and businesses shift control to a foreign country or entity. We are seeing it happen more and more everywhere in the world. I'm still not sure what to think about it, because Americans are buying up property and driving up prices in Portugal and Italy, among other places, and it's not always well received, even if we don't like to admit it. Thanks again for sharing all these interesting stories! -Judy
Cyprus Episode: ua-cam.com/video/6ykKPfUZLPc/v-deo.html
@@FindingGinaMarie it’s happening in England too…..Russian ogliarchs have “repurchased” the blocks of luxurious and very very expensive blocks of flats in large “all mod cons” complexes (your call - apartments) that over look the River Thames in the financial and money making business area known as Canary Wharf, London. I have just checked the cost of one two bedroomed “river view” and it’s £2,400,000!! And it’s a leasehold (meaning, a buyer will never own it outright, the property is leased by a Lettings Agentfor X number of years)
A lot of these properties are, unsurprisingly! empty as not many people will be able to afford the monthly mortgage (£1,180) over the 25 year repayment terms! So it is only the very, very rich that can buy the flats. It is so sad - we have a “homeless” problem and problems with young people (like my two adult sons) starting an independent life by being able to buy or even rent their own homes because they just cannot afford or justify the mortgage/rental costs. But the problem seems impossible to solve! It is just rich pickings for those with the cash in their pockets….(and the same people are “buying up” our Football Clubs and grounds! Those places “belong” to the town or city that founded them, they should not be a sales commodity! (That was my husbands opinion! 😄) Sorry to bring your good vlogs down and spread bad news! Me just grumbling on … 🫤
Shall I tell you about the time we got stuck in the Troodos Mountains….because the driver of the car, who might have looked just like my husband…forgot to put petrol in it??? ……ohhhhhhhhh 🙄🙄😡🤬🤬🤯 (still not laughing 30 years later!)
@@weedle30 Oh my, Helen! I don't know what trouble Kevin would be in if we were stranded in the mountains. They are steep and there isn't anyplace to go easily. I might not be laughing, either, especially if it were a hot day! -Judy
Part v ….exploring the Troodos Mountains… 🙄😲👊🏻
It was a lovely sunny Sunday morning - important fact that it was a SUNDAY…… ….. …… 😐please remember that it was a Sunday, an all day Sunday…not half a Sunday or a Sunday that became a different day of the week after lunch time…
In the morning, during breakfast, Husband scans map of Cyprus and decides that as it is a SUNDAY, it would be so much fun to visit the Troodos Mountains in our little hire car; the car would be returned to the car hire unit on Monday, so it would be good to do one last exciting “big trip” out. So we made up a picnic, got everything together and set off on the long journey to see the sights.
It was about a two hour drive to get to the start of the mountains - at the Visitor Centre - and once there, we just decided to follow the usual and easiest road way to the top and down the other side….
It was all very pretty and scenic, the views were good from our vantage point, so we stopped in a parking place to have our picnic and then drive down the mountain and follow the road back to where we were staying…it was now mid afternoon so time to leave….
as we approached the road track going downhill, I suddenly had this uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach …. It came to my mind that I could not remember the last time we had put petrol in the itank….and I looked over at the dashboard and saw the petrol gauge arrow pointing in the red zone!! Not wanting to scream, I quietly said to the husband, “we are going to run out of petrol very soon, what can we do….??” He looked at me and said “no…I filled the car up the other day, didn’t I? “ I shook my head and he replied “…. I did, didn’t I??!! “ he looked at the gauge and swore loudly saying “I forgot!! I meant to do it yesterday! Why didn’t you remind me??!! Ohhhhhh…..
So there we were, half way down a mountain, literally miles away from our hotel in car that was running on empty! The only solution was to take the car out of gear and cruise down the hill just using the clutch - very dangerous of course - in the hope that we were away from the mountain, on the main road, there would be just enough petrol to get us to a garage.
We got to the bottom of the mountain and was driving through a very small village - there had to be a petrol garage here!?! and as we drove along at 10mph, there on the farm land of a large house was a single but small petrol pump! We were SAVED!!! So we stopped the car at the side of the road…
On the land, at the front of the house, was a very long patio table and and all the family - adults, teenagers and young children - were sitting at it, eating their meals. Husband walked over to speak a man who was walking towards him. Husband explained that our car had run out of petrol, could we please buy some from him. The man spoke a tiny bit of English and said He owned the petrol pump - the fuel was for his tractor - it was his petrol, he bought it himself and he wasn’t allowed to sell any to anyone else, as it was a SUNDAY - it was the “local Church laws” that petrol could not be sold on a Sunday….🤔🥸. Husband explained that we had a very long journey back to our resort and there was nowhere for us to stay overnight - could he please “break the Sunday law” and let us buy some petrol, we would even pay a donation to the Church if it would help. The man ummed and aahed and said “good big price, you pay my petrol, a big price English pounds?” Oh yes! Anything!! Good job husband did have some English currency in his wallet! “Allegedly”, the local Cypriot farmer can trade better deals with £ notes! So handing over £20 (worth a lot more then) - the Sunday Church laws all forgotten 😉 the man filled up our thirsty little hire car with enough of his own “juice” to get us back home. We thanked him profusely (I was almost crying with relief!) and his last words were “Sunday Church law is schtooopid silly, you needa the petrol so our God say “okaaay” you can have it on this day…”
We thought at first, that the man with the petrol pump was “having us on” but we did find out that in the small villages, that all those years ago when we visited, there was a strict observance of Sunday being kept as a Holy day and no shops (or petrol stations!) were allowed to open ….. but the power of an English £20 worked wonders!
@weedle30 I'm not sure what happened, but I sent a response and now don't see it! We have found ourselves in a pinch on Sundays as well, but fortunately, not quite like this! I'm not sure if this guy was what you'd call a true "Good Samaritan," but he sure did save you. I think that £20 was a steal-if you're allowed to call it that because it did cause him to break the "Sunday law." I'd probably have offered everything we had in our pockets, not realizing he'd settle for £20! I'm so glad it worked out for you in the end. And after the fact, aren't these the best stories?! Definitely need time under your belt first though! Thank you for sharing all your stories, Helen. They are great and exactly why we love building this community. We want to hear these types of things! -Judy
Very sad even after nearly 50 years😢
Hi Judith, thanks for watching. Sad indeed and still super mired in politics and greed. 😢 -Judy
Part iii
(Seriously hoping I’m not boring you RIGID with my stories 😲🥺😄😵💫) (but this is almost “amusing”! ermm well, it is now, wasn’t then! 😯)
My Husband and I (as HM the Queen used to say) - well it was me really! As we still had the hire car, to visit Nicosia - because….well, “I” wanted to visit those oh so famous “British” shops - Marks & Spencer’s; Debenhams, John Lewis, that had become established in Nicosia - yes, as husband so rightly said “well you can go shopping there ‘at home’ can’t you?” But didn’t seem to understand that there might be “different things” to buy…
So, we started the drive up to Nicosia, following our trusty map…and got to the capital…but there - our map “stopped” being helpful because the mini map of “Nicosia” bore no relation to what Nicosia was actually like! We drove round an infernal one way system, trying to find a car park etc but was going nowhere fast! So ignoring the road signs pointing to anywhere nowhere, we found a small side street - expecting it to lead to “somewhere”…
We got to the end of the side street and had to bear left and carried driving down an even narrower side street…
Well, we got to the end of this narrow side street …. And there at the very end stood…..a….fully….armed….Turkish….Soldier…..standing outside his sentry box!! He raised his rifle and aimed it at us, walking forward towards the car…..he looked directly at us and I saw his finger on the trigger …..!!!
Now, I do not speak any Turkish, neither does husband….I can make myself understood in the tiny bit of Greek that I have learned over the years of “holidaying” on the Greek islands - but I don’t think a Turkish paratrooper would like me saying Kali Mera to him….what to do now??
Squeal in terror and panic, try not to think of death, then slam car into reverse gear and go backwards as fast as you can, down that really narrow side street! You see, We had had no idea that we had inadvertently crossed into Turkish occupied territory down that stupid narrow side street - there were no signs saying “don’t go down here, you tourist fools” ….!!
See, I’m laughing now, but then ….. 😱😱😱🤣🤣
You're not boring us at all; we love to hear stories from our viewers. But dang, that had to be terrifying! And I understand exactly what you mean when you talk about "different things" from your familiar home stores! Glad you can laugh about it, but I can appreciate it was not easy and took a while to get to that point! Although I'd like to think that there had to be others who did something similar, if not in that exact location (although how did you bypass a checkpoint? By going down wrong way streets?!) -Judy
Wonderful video! If there's one thing we've discovered while traveling, it's how little we as Americans know about what is actually going on in the world. Traveling through Türkiye and now the Balkans, we are also embarrassed to admit how little we knew about the history and conflict over territory and ethnic differences. Thank you for sharing your adventures in Cyprus. While we are familiar with the tensions between Greece and Türkiye, we had no idea there was an abandoned city.
Oh, and Halloumi is one of our favorite cheeses. Stephanie fries it up in a pan and it's just amazing. We did not realize that it is a Cypriot cheese so once again we are becoming more worldly and educated by watching UA-cam videos. Who would have thought...
Safe Travels
Steph & Chris @388_days
Steph & Chris, Thank you so much for watching and for taking the time to share your thoughts and experiences! We are very eager to explore Türkiye. It's been on our wish list! All the history I learned in school did not prepare me nearly enough for what travel has taught me. Everything is very multi-dimensional and snaps together like puzzle pieces in a way that memorizing dates never could.
We encountered Halloumi first in Greece, so good for you to have been enjoying it all along. It's such a versatile cheese. And yes, there is a wealth of information about most anything you could wonder about on UA-cam. We are glad to be able to share our content here as well! -Judy
Famagusta is not a gohast town or abandend it's just one District
Hi Angelo, our title and our episode talks about Varosha, which is the ghost town in the Famagusta District. -Judy
The Turks generally get the blame for this situation but from what I have read, the Greek Cypriots were the driving force in this conflict due to their support of the illegal coup. Several years ago it looked like the conflict might be settled. The Turks favored an agreement but the Greeks torpedoed the agreement.
Yes, it's a complicated mess, Jeffrey. Part of the issue that I see is that Cyprus was manipulated by Greece for political reasons (it was an extremist group that instigated the coup of 1974) and then Greek Cypriots were furious that they were left fighting the Turkish army on their own. Obviously that didn't work out. Turkish Cypriots fought back, there was a ceasefire, and then where it gets troublesome is that the Turks broke the ceasefire and took significant portions of property while also committing human rights violations and redrawing the country's boundaries. Homes were confiscated and refugees aren't allowed to return. No country has recognized the Turkish Cypriots' unilateral decision to be independent. When you visit, you can see that the Turkish military are the ones overseeing the green line. Greek Cypriots also aren't happy with the stranglehold Turkey has on the Turkish Cypriots, and they are unable to move freely through their own country.
What's especially problematic is that Varosha is prime real estate and there is major money to be made there, and I can't envision the Turks relinquishing it. Because greed. The sad part about all this is that Cyprus is a beautiful island nation and never asked to be in this position of dealing with foreign countries' self-interests. Thank you so much for watching and for your thought-provoking comment. -Judy
Why do Americans always butcher the pronunciation of places overseas?
Please take some time off camera to chat to the locals and make sure you are pronouncing things correctly.
Nicosia = Nic-o-see- ya.
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Sorry, Ellis. Why do some commenters always think the worst of people on the internet without assuming best intentions? We actually know the correct pronunciation of Nicosia, but we mispronounced it in this video. We had it in our notes during the entire time we were in Cyprus and kept referring to them. However, we made a *mistake* in this video and neither of us caught it until after it had been released. We spend about 25+ hours apiece per week on filming, writing, editing, blogging, etc., so we hope our viewers will be understanding of the few nits that sometimes creep in. -Judy
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Varosha is quite an interesting, but tragic place. It's quite a contrast from the harbor in Paphos, which is light and fun. We wish the politics in Cyprus were better because its people don't deserve the challenges it brings. -Judy