Varosha Cyprus: The Luxury Beach Resort That Has Been Sealed Behind Military Fences for 50 Years

In the early 1970s, Varosha was the jewel of the Mediterranean. A glittering resort town on the eastern coast of Cyprus, its beachfront hotels were booked year-round. Elizabeth Taylor vacationed here. Brigitte Bardot sunbathed on its beaches. Frank Sinatra and other celebrities were regular visitors. Construction cranes were everywhere, building new towers to meet the seemingly endless demand.

Then, on a morning in August 1974, the people of Varosha fled. They left their breakfasts on tables, clothes in wardrobes, cars in driveways. They expected to return within days.

For 50 years, most never did.

What Was Varosha Before 1974?

Varosha was a suburb of Famagusta on the eastern coast of Cyprus — a thriving resort district considered one of the most desirable tourist destinations in the entire Mediterranean. Its beach was one of the finest stretches of sand in the region. Its hotels — including the Argo, the Grecian, the King George, and the Florida — were five-star establishments catering to the international elite.

The Varosha waterfront was lined with modern high-rise hotels built throughout the 1960s and early 1970s to meet surging tourist demand. Plans for further expansion were underway. The future looked limitless.

What Happened to Varosha in 1974?

The Turkish Invasion of Cyprus

On July 20, 1974, Turkey launched a military invasion of Cyprus following a Greek-backed coup attempt on the island. Turkish forces advanced rapidly, and by mid-August had captured much of northern Cyprus, including the city of Famagusta.

The Sealing of the Ghost Town

The Greek Cypriot residents of Varosha fled as Turkish forces advanced. Turkish military then sealed off the entire resort area with barbed wire fences and military checkpoints, declaring it a closed military zone. The justification given was that Varosha would serve as a bargaining chip in broader negotiations — to be returned to its original residents as part of a settlement.

Those negotiations have never produced a settlement. For 50 years, the fences have stayed up.

What Varosha Looks Like After 50 Years of Abandonment

For nearly 5 decades, the hotels and apartments of the Varosha ghost town stood exactly as their occupants left them in August 1974. Shop windows still displayed fashions from that summer. Hotel restaurants still had menus on the tables. Cars rusted in the streets. The famous beach — once the most desirable strip of sand in the Mediterranean — became a wild, overgrown shore accessible only to the birds and animals that made it home.

According to Wikipedia’s detailed history of Varosha, nature moved in with remarkable speed, with trees growing through floors and vegetation swallowing entire building facades in the decades following the sealing of the zone.

What Is Happening in Varosha Today?

In October 2020, the Turkish Cypriot administration controversially announced a partial reopening of a section of Varosha’s seafront to the public. The move was condemned by the United Nations, the European Union, Greece, and Cyprus as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions. The UN Security Council called the reopening “deplorable.”

A small part of the beachfront has since been opened to visitors, with some former residents walking its streets for the first time in decades. But the vast majority of Varosha — the hotels, the residential neighborhoods, the commercial district — remains sealed, fenced off, and continuing to decay.

The Cyprus dispute remains completely unresolved after 50 years. Varosha remains one of the most haunting symbols of a conflict that has become one of the world’s longest-running geopolitical standoffs.

Frequently Asked Questions About Varosha Cyprus

Where is Varosha located?

Varosha is a suburb of Famagusta in the northern part of Cyprus, on the island’s eastern coast overlooking the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Why was Varosha abandoned?

Varosha was abandoned in August 1974 when its Greek Cypriot residents fled the advancing Turkish military during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. It was then sealed off as a military zone.

Can you visit Varosha today?

A small section of Varosha’s seafront has been partially reopened since 2020, though this reopening is contested internationally. The vast majority of the area remains closed to visitors.

Will Varosha ever be returned to its original residents?

This remains one of the central unresolved questions of the Cyprus conflict. As of 2026, no political agreement on the return of Varosha has been reached in 50 years of negotiations.

Interested in other abandoned resorts and cities with complicated histories? Read our story about [Kolmanskop ghost town] — the diamond town that was swallowed by the Namib Desert.