In photos: after 46 years, the beach of the Cypriot ghost town reopens to the public

The pristine blue waters that lap the slopes of uninhabited Varosha are in stark contrast to the dilapidated and crumbling buildings that line the beach in this abandoned suburb of Famagusta.

For the first time in 46 years, members of the public were allowed access to Varosha beach in separatist Turkish Cypriot north of ethnically divided Cyprus on Thursday.

Hundreds of people passed through a gate guarded by the Turkish Cypriot police to walk down a newly paved asphalt road leading to the beach that was the jewel of what was once the main tourist center of Cyprus. The road was lined on both sides with police tape to prevent pedestrians from entering windowless houses and rusted businesses, some swallowed up by decades-old snake-infested brush.

For some, like a woman draped in Turkish and Turkish Cypriot flags, it was a joyous moment to witness a “historic” moment.

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For others, like Kyriakos Charalambides, a native of Varosha, a Greek Cypriot who he watched on television from his home in Nicosia, it was a moment of bitterness and pain. “Although I expected this, I shuddered to see those familiar places,” Charalambides, a playwright, told the Associated Press. “It is a pain that cannot be consoled … Varosha is lost.”

The decision by Turkey and the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state, recognized only by Ankara, to open the mile-long stretch of beach was roundly condemned by the internationally recognized Greek Cypriot-led island government.

The Greek Cypriot inhabitants of Varosha fled as Turkish troops advanced in 1974, when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of the union with Greece. Since then, the area has been placed under Turkish military control, cordoned off and abandoned to the ravages of time.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades condemned the opening as a “flagrant violation of international law” and United Nations Security Council resolutions that consider “inadmissible” attempts to settle any part of Varosha (Maras in Turkish) by of any person other than its inhabitants. The resolutions also call for the area to be transferred to the UN administration.

The UN Security Council, currently chaired by Russia, will hold closed consultations on Varosha on Friday.

The Greek Cypriots fear that the opening of the beach is just a first step for Turkey and that the Turkish Cypriots will take over Varosha completely.

Anastasiades said in a statement Thursday that his government has already protested to the UN, the European Union and other international organizations. He reiterated that “unilateral” action could hamper attempts to relaunch the stalled talks to reunify the island.

Both UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell expressed concern over the action they said could increase tensions and undermine new attempts to restart talks.

Former Varosha residents held a rally Thursday night at a junction along a UN-controlled buffer zone to express their opposition to the opening. The checkpoint, one of nine from which Greek and Turkish Cypriots can cross to both sides, was closed on the Turkish Cypriot side as part of measures to counter the spread of Covid-19.

“How can anyone not be upset by what they saw today?” Greek Cypriot mayor of Famagusta, Simos Ioannou, told the Associated Press. “Varosha should have been handed over to her rightful owners … this is psychological pressure.”

But Turkish and Turkish Cypriot officials insist that the measure benefits everyone and that the rights of Greek Cypriot owners are not affected, as only the beach is open for now.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that an inventory of all properties within Varosha is currently being conducted to determine what will happen to the rest of Varosha.

But at least for now, the opening of the promenade and some roads where there is no private property was important, ”Cavusoglu said after a meeting Thursday with his Greek counterpart, Nikos Dendias.

“It will be useful to take measures that benefit everyone, that respect private property rights, without violating the decisions of the UN,” said Cavusoglu.

The inauguration took place just three days before the Turkish Cypriots elected a new leader to represent them in the UN-facilitated peace talks.