Inside the Cyprus ghost town where A-list celebs would spend their holidays before it was left to rot for 50 years
AN ABANDONED ghost town has been left to rot for decades despite once being a holiday hotspot for A-list celebs and home to a hotel owned by King Charles.
The once idyllic resort was quickly transformed into a no-man’s-land after years of looting amid complete disregard for its historic importance to Europe in the 1970s.
The Cypriot town of Varosha faced such a dismal end that people were officially banned from stepping foot in the ghost town until 2017 due to the damage being done each year.
But despite it looking like a shell shocked space today, Varosha was once considered a state-of-art resort.
It was regarded as a breakthrough in tourism when it was thriving in the 1960s and 1970s.
With the town attracting up to 700,000 visitors a year.
This led to it being described as “a tourist mecca of Cyprus” and the “Vegas of the Mediterranean”.
As locals dubbed it the “French Riviera of Cyprus” for the glorious beachfront properties, record-breaking builds and famous faces wandering around the streets.
One property belonged to Hollywood superstar Sophia Loren as Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Raquel Welch, and Brigitte Bardot all loved the location for their getaways.
At its almighty best, the sandy paradise boasted an incredible 3,000 properties including 45 hotels and thousands of homes for the 39,000 residents.
Elsewhere in the former bustling resort sat 60 apartment hotels, 21 banks, 25 museums, 20 theatres and museums, and 99 entertainment venues.
But after a devastating battle for land between the Greek and Cypriot authorities in 1974 the buildings were quickly vandalised and hit by looters.
Leaving them a shell of their former self as the town became deserted and ultimately locked up for decades.
The whopping number of properties left behind has been described as “a monument to diplomatic failure”.
THE KING’S KINGDOM
According to the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus government – who control part of Varosha – King Charles owns the mega Golden Sands Hotel.
The enormous hotel complex was first opened in 1974 and was proudly declared “the world’s first seven-star hotel”.
It was even so big that it even had a railway line inside to carry clients around from room to room.
But according to reports, the hotel was only open for a few months before it was left abandoned as Varosha lost its sparkle.
Tables, cabinets, dishes and crockery sets have all been eating mountains of dust for decades inside the glamorous walls.
But unlike other properties on the resort, the Golden Sands Hotel has been left untouched by looters and preserved – giving it the nickname of “the untouched hotel”.
It is still closely monitored and patrolled by several guards and requires permission to enter the nearby grounds.
Despite the government’s claims, the Royal Family has denied the King owns it.
The Military of Defence has also shut down rumours that it is protected by UK security forces.
WHAT HAPPENED TO VAROSHA?
Varosha was badly affected when it was caught up in fierce fighting in 1974 between Turkey and Greece.
The Turkish army reportedly arrived in the town to protect Turkish Cypriots from Greeks.
The inhabitants of Varosha were forced to flee, fearing they could be massacred by the invading Turks.
Troops then fenced off the area, preventing anyone from getting in and signs warned that it was a “forbidden zone”.
Tourists were banned from entering and taking pictures inside the fenced-off area but some managed to sneak in to document the decay.
These days the crumbling buildings and rubble in the streets only hint at the town’s former glory days.
Since then, the United Nations has used it to try to bring the two battling groups together but it is controlled by the self-declared country of the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus.
Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ersin Tatar said he has hopes of Varosha reopening properly soon as it could bring trade and tourism benefits.
He explained: “Varosha is most definitely going to be opened. The tide has shifted, a new page has been turned.
“We are successfully continuing on our path. The inventory work is almost complete, we are in the opening phase.”
People have been banned from stepping foot on Varosha until 2017 when only a small section of it was reopened to the public.
Since reopening, people have explored the town to see what the once regal and luxurious resort still has to offer.
One tourist wrote on Tripadvisor: “Very emotional and thought provoking to see somewhere as beautiful as this with bullet holes and nature reclaiming it.
“You cannot help but feel for the people who once lived here.”
As a second said: “It is really a remarkable place, straight out of “Planet of the Apes”. A full on holiday beach resort, closed, many buildings with marks from shelling or bullets from 47-years-ago.
“Every bit is fascinating and all along are abandoned hotels, houses, unfinished buildings.”
Before a third put: “Amazing and sad at the same moment to see how this place went from heaven to nothing.”