Famagusta: the Swedish journalist who described it as a “ghost town”

Images of the once noble city of Famagusta flooding the small screen through the series Famagusta have piqued viewers' interest in buildings that appear to have been rotting away with time for 50 years.

From the first second, the MEGA series showcases the corners of the Cypriot city – the “ghost” as Famagusta was called after the Turkish invasion in the summer of 1974.

Dead city

The bustling city gives way to the desolate cobblestone streets of “Dead City” as early as the opening credits of the Famagusta series ending with frozen barbed wire and the message “I have left my soul inside. Open!”.

As we read on the official website of the Famagusta Municipality, which maintains temporary offices in Limassol after the Turkish occupation, the Swedish journalist Jan Olof Bengston described it as a “ghost town.”

Bengston visited the port of Famagusta and, staring out at the closed city, wrote: “The asphalt road was full of cracks and the sidewalks were overgrown with bushes. Today – September 1977 – there are small tables where breakfast is served, laundry is spread out on the line and electric lamps are on. Farosi is a ghost town.”

The Greek Cypriot population of Famagusta was expelled on 14 August 1974, and since then most of the city has remained closed and deserted, with the occupying army not allowing the return of its legal residents, despite relevant UN resolutions.

The municipal authority of the occupied city also indicates that the abandoned part of Famagusta is located at the southern tip of occupied Cyprus and occupies an area of ​​6.4 square kilometers.

It is bordered to the east by the sea and to the south by the dead zone. Before the Turkish invasion, the central area of ​​the city contained a large number of jobs.

Images from the Famagusta series

In the first episode of Famagusta, images of the deserted city create a nostalgic yet emotionally charged tone. Among them, the iconic building of the Greek High School, the busy pre-1974 Famagusta bar, the building bearing the “Olympic Air Force” sign and a series of hotels that have hosted citizens and celebrities from all over Europe.

After all, the area had the majority of hotel beds available in Famagusta and was the most developed tourist part of the island. Famagusta existed between 1960 and 1974 due to its sandy beach. After all, its name literally means city buried in sand.

The city was a destination for many Hollywood stars at the time

Paul Newman filmed Exodus there and lived in the city with his wife, Joan Woodgard. In fact, they were immortalized together on the beach of the famous Constantia Hotel in Famagusta.

In 1964, French star Brigitte Bardot also came to Famagusta. It seems that the French cinema diva was enjoying the sea on the beach of Faroussia. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton also had a soft spot on the same beach. The couple preferred to spend their vacation at the Argo Hotel.

MEGA's flagship production, Famagusta, continues to highlight the painful history of Cyprus every Sunday night at 21:00.