We are crossing a border between countries, one of which is not recognized by anyone but Turkey. Today, it is Erdoğan who propagandistically maintains this strange monster.
Cypriots speak only of the areas occupied by the Turks.
From one third of the island's territory, Cypriots were forcibly displaced and deprived of their homes as a result of Turkey's aggression in 1974 on the eastern coast and the annexation of Famagusta - once the largest port of Cyprus.
Famagusta (actually its district of Warosia) was a well-known resort called the Cypriot Las Vegas.
Today it is a sad relic of the attack of Turkish troops on Cyprus in 1974. Warosia is now a large gated district of Famagusta full of hotels (actually their ruins) and beautiful beaches.
“Once Famagusta was the most thriving resort in Cyprus, today all that is left of this beautiful history are abandoned buildings from the 70s in the style of a Chernobyl town. You cannot enter Warosia without a special pass and you cannot take pictures of closed areas.”
It was not a pleasant experience, reminiscent of barbed wire fences on the GDR/FRG border.
To make matters worse, a strong wind started to blow, which meant that the second part of the trip, i.e. the cruise along "our" coast, was cancelled.
A nice touch was drinking a good EFES beer which reminded us of being in mainland Turkey.
