Varosha sees two millionth visitor since reopening

The two millionth person to visit Varosha since its reopening in 2020 did so on Friday.

The number of people to have visited passed two million as a Turkish family of three, Mihrican, Aycan, and Tuna Ozcan, entered the abandoned area of Famagusta.

They were greeted at the entrance by Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, Turkish Cypriot security forces commander Osman Aytac, and Turkish Cypriot Famagusta mayor Suleyman Ulucay.

Tatar told the family that the Turkish Cypriots have “maintained their presence on this island for 453 years”, pointing out the finding of historical artefacts from the Ottoman Empire in Varosha.

“80,000 martyrs were given during the conquest of Cyprus [in 1571]. This is truly our homeland, our ancestral land. Varosha is an ancient and very important piece of land which belongs to the Turkish Cypriot people,” he said.

Varosha had been empty since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, but was then reopened to visitors in October 2020 following a joint decision by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the north’s then ‘prime minister’ and current Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar.