It was the most popular tourist destination in the Eastern Mediterranean until July 1974. Varosia was full of life, luxury hotels were constantly overcrowded while crystal clear waters and golden sands attracted Hollywood stars and more.
The "French Riviera" of Cyprus or the "Vegas of the Mediterranean", as it was characterized by Famagusta, lost its luster after the invasion. It has since become a "ghost town".
The legendary Bebe in Varosia
The beautiful Brigitte Bardot was one of the stars who preferred the golden beaches of Famagusta to relax and spend a beautiful summer. The legendary Bebe was found in Varosia in 1964.
The debut of ABBA
In April 1970, two couples from Sweden went on holiday to Famagusta. Benny with Frida and Bjorn with Agnetha, on the occasion of an agreement they had made with the travel company Fritidsresor, agreed on the holiday package, which was offered to them for advertising reasons, to do a concert for the UN.
The two couples agreed. Rehearsals began for fun on the balcony of the Twiga Tower Hotel in Famagusta and on the beaches of Varos. Almost no one remembers anything from the concert. It lasted a maximum of 30 minutes and the list included some Swedish songs. After this amateur experience they decided to form a band.
They chose the name Festfolket, which means partypeople, while at the same time there was a rumor that the name was chosen because if someone wrote it Fästfolket, it meant "engaged couples". Later they created the ABBA.
Paul Newman and Exodus
In 1960, Leon Uris's novel "Exit" on the flight of Jews from Cyprus to Palestine after the Holocaust was transferred to the big screen. The Hollywood crew was in Cyprus for the shooting, starring Paul Newman.
From April to August, when the shooting lasted, Paul Newman, Eva Marie Saint, Ralph Richardson and Peter Lawford were staying at the Constancia Hotel in Famagusta. The inhabitants of Famagusta remember that the protagonist loved the beach of Famagusta.
The fatal couple Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton For their holidays, they preferred Varos and Elizabeth Taylor with her lover Richard Bardon. Their favorite hotel was the Argo Hotel, a luxury hotel on the beach of Varosia.
Residents remember how "open-handed" they were when they distributed fifty dollars as burgers. In one night the glow of Famagusta faded. After the violent escape of the residents due to the invasion, Famagusta passed into the hands of the Turks. On May 11, 1984, the United Nations and the Security Council passed a resolution calling on the Turks to hand over the Barony to them, in order to return it to its inhabitants.
However, Turkey refused and kept the city as a "bargaining chip" for the Cyprus issue. Today, in the completely abandoned and dilapidated city, there are only the once spectacular hotels and some soldiers who are ordered to shoot anyone who tries to enter.
Source: Mixanitouxronou