TRNC Maras Region Opens After 46 Years

Meeting with President Erdoğan, Prime Minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Ersin Tatar said, “We have brought the work to a stage. "We are opening the shores and beaches of Varosha, which is closed, to the use of our people from Thursday."

Opening Stage of TRNC Maraş Region

In line with the joint statements made by the Prime Minister of Northern Cyprus Ersin Tatar and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Kudret Özersay, it was reported that an inventory study will be carried out first and then the city will be opened to tourism again. To the help of experts from Turkey to Cypriot team moved in inventory and work in Varosha as a result of a study will be conducted jointly and agreed to be taken under the registration of immovable property records. The cost of renewing the infrastructure of Varosha, rebuilding by landscaping and opening it to tourism is estimated to be 10.000.000.000 dollars. TRNC Water Supply Project Pipeline Repair the subsequent Quenching Speaking at the ceremony TRNC Prime Minister Ersin Tatar, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a joint taken with the participation of decision October 8, 2020 on Thursday, announced Maras coastline and the sea would pave the use of Turkish Cypriot people. 

Today, 46 years and which is closed off area of ​​Varosha Ghost decision to re-open the so-called city of Turkey / received by TRNC.

The now ghost town of Varosha, which was flooded with tourists as the holiday center of Cyprus before the war, has been abandoned for years. The shores of Closed Varosha, which was once frequented by world stars and rich people, are opened to citizens on Thursday, October 8 for the first time in years.

Why is Maraş Closed and Why is it Important?

Marash or Varosha (Modern Greek: Βαρώσια, Varosia), the neighborhood located in the city of Famagusta, was the most famous area in Cyprus. After the agreements made, most of them were closed to settlement and settlement.

One of the most famous holiday resorts in the Mediterranean before 1974, Maraş was captured by the Turkish Armed Forces on 13 August 1974 during the Second Cyprus Operation (which ended on that day). After Turkish planes bombed the city, the population of the region, consisting entirely of Greek Cypriots, fled to the south. After the Turkish army was captured, Maraş was declared a military forbidden zone. Settlement since opening the 1976-77 year ago in some limited areas, immigrants from the south to the north of Marash Turkish Cypriots, after which placed Turkish immigrants. The closed area of ​​Varosha was administered by the Cyprus Turkish Peace Forces Command, which was directly a part of the Turkish Armed Forces between 1974 and 1990, and was officially declared a first degree military exclusion zone in 1981. On 29 July 1990, control of the region was handed over to the TRNC Security Forces Command.

There is a UN building inside. About 400 meters away, six apartments have been allocated to the Turkish Armed Forces to build an army home.

Entry inside is strictly prohibited, except for members of the Turkish Armed Forces and students staying in the dormitory next to the army house. Foreign tourists who want to see the ghost town cannot go beyond the Maraş Icon Church. However, since 2016, tourists have been banned from entering the church. Except for those with a military card, those staying in dormitories and registered taxis, no civilian vehicles or pedestrians are allowed into the Varosha Area.

According to the Annan Plan, Varosha, which was closed, would be left under the control of the Greek side. However, although the Annan plan was accepted by the Turkish Cypriots in the referendum, this did not happen when it was rejected by the Greek Cypriots.