Ghost town reopened

After some 47 years, the strictly No Go Varosha or at least a part of it has been reopened to the public despite the condemnation of the UN Security Council. It's likely to remain a ghost town since only the original inhabitants would be allowed to resettle there. As bad as it sounds many of us like eerie, abandoned places, towns frozen in time so this visit was a no brainer for hubby and I.

The gates are open between 8am and 8pm every day and you can even rent a bike to cycle around if you don't fancy the walk. I must say, it does look a bit weird though...people cycling, walking around in groups, chatting away like it's the most usual part of their days.

So we entered the town and quickly walked past some loud, selfie-taking groups of tourists. The roads were redone, recently covered by tarmac and painted signs. Ropes around the collapsing buildings, police patrols and CCTV's prying eyes were making sure that nobody goes on rogue discovery missions. Unlike a few years ago, I did not see any grumpy guards with shotguns either - I guess that would put some jumpy tourists off - but I didn't want to risk being told off, so we obliged and walked where we were permitted to.

It's not that easy to describe how Varosha looks/ feels like. I'm saying "feels" because people who visit here will inevitably step into a different word and time that will surely bring feelings and emotions out of them. I can obviously only speak for myself without taking sides. I felt like the time has stopped and stood still since 1974. Shops and houses shut their blinds forever, traffic lights closed their eyes and went to eternal sleep, human life disappeared and never again returned.

Only nature was oblivious to the silence. The sun kept shining, the sea kept kissing the golden coasts and the once nicely kept trees and greens slowly slowly overgrown the town and claimed their territory back.

During the decades, homes and other buildings were looted, the shops' signage faded and become derelict, but just by walking through the empty streets, it was so easy to imagine how busy and full of life they once were.

Maybe one day we will all learn to live with each other....