As it is coming up to Halloween, I thought I would share a photography subject which felt appropriate.
I recently had the chance to visit the town of Famagusta in Cyprus. Historically, this place has a lot of significance to the political history of the country. Aside from the Invasion, the town itself has a rich history from being settled or occupied at one point or another by Venetians, Ottoman Turks, British and now modern Turkey. If you are in Cyprus and are a history buff it should definitely be on your list of places to visit.
Famagusta’s Old Venetian Cathedral, now a Mosque (Portra 400)
The following video explains, the history for those who don’t know about the Greek and Turkish conflict in Cyprus:
The particular area I was really interested in was a place called Varosha. Varosha, Famagusta used to be a very exclusive resort district with rows of boutique shops, expensive hotels, travel agencies (travel was the pursuit of the rich in the 70s) and even a theatre. This was until August 1974, when the Turkish Army advanced to what is now the North-South Cypriot border. The entire Greek Cypriot population fled the town leaving behind all of their property and personal belongings.
An abandoned hotel (unchanged circa 1974)
It wasn’t until 2021 that the Turkish Cypriot government started allowing visitors into the town, and I jumped at the opportunity to visit this year as I was near the area, and have always had a fascination with abandoned or neglected places.
So I grabbed my Nikon F3, 50mm lens and some Kodak Portra 400 film (as well as my iPhone for some run and gun snapshots) to try and capture some of what makes Varosha so fascinating.
My camera of choice — Nikon F3 (stock image)
When it came to practical concerns of travelling to the area — (I’m assuming most people travelling to Famagusta will be coming from the Greek side), you must present your passport at the border, as well as purchase Turkish driver’s insurance for the duration of your stay.
Once I arrived in the town I was surprised at the amount of police and UN guard presence in this town — areas were roped off to prevent people from entering any of the abandoned houses and some of the side streets. It seemed that visitors are ‘corralled’ into staying on the main streets, almost like a strange exhibit.
It was also a surreal experience to see the streets of this town completely empty of traffic and pedestrians save for a few tourists.
Town Center of Varosha
It was as if the town was frozen in time in 1974. The buildings and infrastructure was crumbling, and the trees and plants were slowly claiming back the urban space. It reminded me a lot of the video game The Last of Us.
Sign falling off a building on an overgrown street (Portra 400)
Aside from the feeling of being watched by the police everywhere I went, the place had a strange nostalgic feeling — it was curious to recognise some of today’s brands like coca-cola, Kodak and Hoover with their retro original logos and colours just as they were in the 70s. Let’s just say shooting analogue film here felt completely appropriate.
Kodak sign has seen better days
Retro Hoover sign on a crumbling building (Portra 400)
This Jet sign was probably my favourite shot from the whole trip, the colours of the sign and facade really came into their own on Portra 400:
Jet sign on an old building facade (Portra 400)
Perhaps the only thing that would have made this shot perfect would have been a plane coming into the frame, but hey.
As I was hunting out old signs, I noticed how eerily quiet it was for a town, there was no traffic, and hardly any people. Perhaps the only sounds you could regularly hear were birds and the slightly unnerving creaking of the old buildings — possibly from animals who have taken refuge inside?
Speaking of creaking buildings, a lot of the old houses and shops were in a really poor state, there were even signs everywhere warning people of the danger of collapse inside these decrepit buildings.
This was a real shame as you could tell some of these houses were probably really impressive back in the day.
Overgrowth and building decay (Portra 400)
Decrepit building with arches
Decrepit gift shop interior
Despite how run down and melancholy the town looks, you can tell this used to be a really bustling resort town due to the number of businesses and high-end shops whose facades still remain.
This is also evident once you follow the rows of abandoned resort hotels and holiday apartments all the way to the beach, with crystal-blue water and a sandy beach.
Abandoned beach shack (Portra 400)
It is a strange and conflicting feeling walking through the streets of a town where real people lived, created a community and had a bustling economy turned into almost a theme park, a museum.
The district of Varosha serves almost like a time machine which gives us a glimpse not only of the past as it was in the 70s, but also perhaps into the future with current events as they are.
