Famagusta
Gazi Magusa
Mosque in Famagusta
March 15, 2004
We awoke and left Nicosia for the Karpas Peninsula. We got a cab and went to the
border between north and south Cyprus. Our cab driver wanted to take us all the
way to Famagusta but it would be $125 each way so he dropped us off at the crossing.
We ran into all sorts of problems here, so soon decided to go back to our hotel,
rescued our car and head north on the way to Famagusta.
Famagusta's mosque is quite imposing, but the walled city even better, like
a castle with few entrances and only bridge-crossings to enter the city hidden behind
the walls.
We saw a part of the city run by Greeks until 1974. In 1974 they were driven into
the south... so quickly they couldn’t even gather their belongings, so the city
remains as if frozen in time. Even the car dealership contains “new” 1974 model
cars. This part of the city is now no man’s land; inaccessible and guarded with
armed guards, no one is allowed to enter.