ANKARA (TURKEY) – Northern Cyprus is gearing up for the reopening the abandoned town of Varosha, the state’s premier said on Friday.
Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ersin Tatar said the revival of Varosha, now a tapestry of derelict hotels, churches and residences, would reap trade and tourism benefits.
However, the move is likely to agitate Greek Cypriots, which includes 39,000 of them believed to have once lived in Varosha before escaping the advancing Turkish forces 46 years ago.
Tatar said, “Varosha is most definitely going to be opened. The tide has shifted, a new page has been turned. (Northern Cyprus) will become stronger by opening Varosha to tourism.”
However, Tatar did not specify any timeline for reopening Varosha.
While referring to Northern Cyprus, he said, “Varosha lies within TRNC territory,” he said, recognised as a state only by Turkey. “Nobody can take it from us. We are successfully continuing on our path. The inventory work is almost complete, we are in the opening phase.”
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field.