Famagusta (Gazimagusa)

...stay in a hotel near Famagusta and right next to the ruins of the ancient town Salamis.

A few weeks later it was time to pack my bags - little did I know that I would soon be packing much more, as I moved to Northern Cyprus less then a year from then on.

The journey wasn't quite as straightforward, as it would have been to the recognized official Cyprus and was only the first hindsight that this part of the world indeed ...
...The journey from Ercan to Famagusta takes about 40 minutes if being fetched by a hotel-owned bus or self-drive. If taken in a Taxi could be much less, thanks to the ruthless driving methods of the locals.

The rest of my first holiday there is rather insignificant, as I really came to know the area around Famagusta while living there for 3 1/2 years.

A bit of the history of Famagusta and Cyprus :

With ... more

When I visited the tourism part of a fair in Nuernberg in 1998, I came across a very small stand that exhibited Northern Cyprus as a travel destination. I have to admit at this point, that until then my knowledge about Cyprus had been vague.
I knew, of course, where to find it on a map and that there had been a war in 1974, which ended in an armistice rather then a peace treaty, this being the cause of the island being divided into the Greek-Cypriot southern- part that is officially recognized as Cyprus and the smaller Turkish governed northern part which isn't recognized.
You have to forgive my ignorance, but there aren't quite as many Cypriot immigrants in Germany as in England. At the time of my first enquiry at the Turkish Embassy, they had a mere 29 individuals registered, for the whole country, which is about as many as you can find in some of the English Cypriot enclaves , let's say Haringey in London, in one street.
The stallholder at the fair enriched my knowledge a bit, confirmed that it would be absolutely safe to holiday there and showed me some wonderful pictures of nearly deserted beaches and vast amounts of ancient ruins to explore.
Well, I like unusual destinations for my holidays and she had me convinced.

Booking was easy, I opted for a 7 nights stay in a hotel near Famagusta and right next to the ruins of the ancient town Salamis.

A few weeks later it was time to pack my bags - little did I know that I would soon be packing much more, as I moved to Northern Cyprus less then a year from then on.

The journey wasn't quite as straightforward, as it would have been to the recognized official Cyprus and was only the first hindsight that this part of the world indeed is still very affected from it's past.

My plane took of from Nuernberg, direct to Istanbul. There I had to change planes, with a little bit of waiting time in between. All in all the journey took more then 9 hours to reach Ercan airport in the KKTC. (Kuzey Kibris Tuerk Cumhuriyet - Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus )

The journey from England is a bit more straightforward. Here you usually don't have to leave the plane in Turkey, just wait until passengers in Istanbul or Antalya have disembarked and others from Turkey to Cyprus have boarded. You'll still have to expect a good 5-6 hour journey, so if travelling with small children you should make sure to take enough stuff with you to entertain them, plus sufficient nappies, etc.

The journey from Ercan to Famagusta takes about 40 minutes if being fetched by a hotel-owned bus or self-drive. If taken in a Taxi could be much less, thanks to the ruthless driving methods of the locals.

The rest of my first holiday there is rather insignificant, as I really came to know the area around Famagusta while living there for 3 1/2 years.

A bit of the history of Famagusta and Cyprus :

With its location, being just 44 km away from Turkey, 64 km from Syria and 211 km from Egypt .Cyprus lies exactly at the border between Europe and Asia, Christianity and Islam. Because of this, Cyprus had always been a much desired place to own and it had its fair share of troubles and wars. Which proofs that it is not always desirable to live in a prime location.

The earliest findings in the area of Famagusta go back to the bronze age .
Famagusta is believed to have been founded under the name Arsinoe by King Ptolemy Phildelphius of Egypt during the 4th century B.C. .
For a long time it was overshadowed by the much more important and powerful Salamis, which is just 8 kilometres further north. Salamis itself was destroyed in the 7th century and it's inhabitants are believed to have flewn to Arsinoe.
In 1191, Richard Lionheart, who was on his way from Messina to the Holy Land to take part in the crusade, felt the need to conquer the island. As it is told, some of his ships had wrecked before Cyprus and the Cypriots proofed to be not very helpful and mistreated his people badly. Richard subsequently seized the whole island and gave it first to the Knights Templar. This proved to be a not so wise choice as they weren't able to control their newly acquired people and there were quite some riots. So in 1192 he changed his mind and gave the island to Guy de Lusignan, the former King of Jerusalem.
During the reign of the Lusignan dynasty Famagusta became one of the main markets in the eastern Mediterranean. It became the place to be for rich merchants and also the headquarter of many Christian religious orders. The leftovers of many churches of differing denominations are still existing, although many not very well preserved. The Lusignan also fortified Famagusta and build the famous ramparts, which surround the whole town, as well as the citadel castle which guards the harbour. The later is more commonly known as Othello's tower and we will hear more about it later on.
From the 12th century on Famagusta was seat of a Latin diocese and had bishops residing there until the 16th century.
In 1489 the Venetians triumph over the Lusignan and during the 82 years oft their reign they managed to remodel the whole defence for the use of artillery.
The old mediaeval square towers were replaced by round ones and portholes were inserted. Which proved to be a wise thing as promptly in 1570 the Ottoman armada arrived outside of the town, the rest of the island had more or less surrendered, and saw itself forced to put the whole city under siege for 1 whole year. Finally Famagusta had to give in to, but to very favourable conditions, and Cyprus became part of the Ottoman Turkish Empire. It remained so until 1878 ,when Cyprus was, in the aftermath of the Turco-Russian war, leased to the British as part of a defense treaty.
During WW1 the Ottomans made very good friends with the Germans and as a result Cyprus was annexed to Britain. In 1925 it became a British Colony, as Turkey had become a Republic in the meantime and recognised the British claims over the island.
In 1960 Cyprus finally became independent again, but the two communities, the Turkish and Greek Cypriots weren't quite able to govern the country together and disagreed on about everything. Between 1963 and 1974 several armed conflicts erupted on the island and when Enosis attempted to unify the island with Greece and toppled archbishop Makarios from his position as President, Turkey reacted and within one week send it's troops to the help of the Turkish Cypriots. The island became divided and while the southern part thrived to become one of the most popular holiday destinations in the Mediterranean the northern part, burdened by international embargo and non- recognition, continued to exist in a sleeping beauty- like style. Underdeveloped, isolated and nearly forgotten by the rest of the world.
Until recently when both parts were pressed by the UN to settle their conflict once and for all. This ended in the infamous referendum that was accepted by the Turkish-Cypriots but vetoed by the Greek-Cypriots and, although the borders at least are open now, so that travel from on side to the other is possible again, the situation is still very much unclear.

This is of course only a very quick overlook of the history of Famagusta and Cyprus, but to go further into the subject would, with such a vibrant past, very soon break the boundaries of a review.

So let's move on now to the more informative tips for people interested in going there.

Where to stay :

There are many hotels in Famagusta and also in the areas further up south. If I say further, so you might bear in mind that Northern-Cyprus is only a very small country and the distances are not quite that big.

Personally I would never consider staying directly in Famagusta. As interesting as the town is in terms of sight-seeing, it lacks the second thing that makes this part of the world so desirable for holidaymakers: Beaches.

Famagusta is a harbour town and nearly all of it's seafront is occupied by it. The only hotel with a beach, a very small one, in the whole town is the Palm Beach Hotel.
This is also the most expensive one, but with package prices still very affordable. I've seen it on offer for one week for about £450. It bears a local 5 star rating.
What puts me right of this place, is its proximity to the ghost town, the shut part of Marash, which is no-mans land since 1974. The whole area is sealed of and whatever is inside has been untouched since 32 years. You'll hear more abut it later for now ,I only want to mention that this is not exactly the sight I would like to have in front of my bedroom window every morning.
There is also a Turkish army barrack right opposite side and this doesn't enhance the beauty of the location in which the hotel is situated in my book either. the only good thing about it is, that you can reach the town centre by walk.

So I would suggest to move a bit up north, into the area of the Salamis ruins, about 10 kilometres away from Famagusta, to find a suitable accommodation.
The first option here would be the Salamis Bay Conti.
A 4-star rated hotel with several pools, bars, restaurant, hairdresser and casino.
The beach isn't very nice here, but you'll only have to walk a few hundred metres along the seashore and find yourself all alone on a marvellous one. Extra costs on this hotel seem to be quite high as I have heard many people complaining about small bottles of water sold for 1 £ and similar. Just buy your drinks in a local supermarket and put them in the minibar.
The service at the hotel is good, also the food, but I am not sure if it would get the same amount of stars here.
www.salamisbayconti.com

The next one is the Mimoza Hotel, which is a much smaller hotel, that has a pool, restaurant and bar. It is directly next to the Salamis and I still would prefer to walk a bit on the beach before making myself comfortable for a swim and sunbath.
I never heard any complaints about this one, so it must be good value for the money.
www.Mimozabeachhotel.com

Right next to this is are the Koca Reis Bungalows.
This one is owned by two brothers who have extended and renovated the complex over the last years extensively. We put up some friends there who came to stay for a holiday, as we already had other friends to stay in our house and ran out of place. They loved it that much that they came back even after we had moved to the UK.
The bungalows are spacious and well equipped and the beach here is beautiful. they have a 2 beach bars and a restaurant but I couldn't find a website. As soon as the formerly mentioned friends are reachable again, they are holidaying in Madagascar right now, l will add the e-mail address.

The last one on my list is Park Hotel, where I have stayed during my first holiday. The hotel is a bit dated, but I've been told that it has been refurbished by now. They offer a restaurant, bar and beach bar, as well as a salt water pool.
The beach here is lovely and it is the closest to the Salamis ruins which can be reached within 10 minutes by walk.
www.Parkhotel-online.com

Now that you have, hopefully, your accomodation sorted, we can start to go sightseeing.

All the hotels above run a bus service to Famagusta, but often only twice a day. Taxis are not too expensive, but I would recommend to rent a car. This can be done for as little as £9 per day, rising with the size of the car you want.
The public transport system can't be recommended as it is infrequent, the standard of the buses is horrible and there are no regular bus-stops on the road.

If you come from one of the hotels in the north you'll be approaching the city on the street which is called Salamis Yolu, and which will become, once entering the town, the Izmet Inoenue Bulvari.
The first impressions will probably not the best one, as the Boulevard in this newer part of the town is by far not as grand as its name suggests.
It simply exists of an abundance of small shops, mostly groceries, some small cafes and restaurants, the university of the town and the, rather unsightly, dwelling of the UN soldiers.
You might have guessed by now, the Boulevard is for Famagusta, apart from the presence of the army barracks, what we would call the typical high-street.
Don't get the idea to leave your car right at the entrance of Famagusta, as it is a very long Boulevard and, especially in the summer-heat, this would be a walk which you would very soon regret.

You'll finally spot the city walls to your left and, after following them for a while, enter the old town through the first gate that comes in sight.
Here you can finally park your car in the car park which you will find to your right, right in front of the wall.

To walk through Famagusta's old city centre itself, is like walking through a big museum.
Starting from the moment when you get out of your car and face the ancient city wall, which still surrounds the city completely. There are several point from which you can climb up the ramparts and enjoy the view over the city. it is , as far as I remember, not accessible for the disabled.

To explore the town, I would suggest that you start from the small street that starts right opposite of the gate and work yourself down-hill. Be careful, the streets are all not in the best condition, uneven and with lots of pot-holes and comfortable shoes should be the rule.
There will be lots of small shops again, but this time they will trade much of their offers right on the pavement, as I meant small. The houses are mostly very old and many of them in urgent need of some repair , some of them even behind that stage, but still in use, and the whole atmosphere is quite charming.
The items on offer here are mostly clothes, don't expect any designer names, but some of them offer very good value for money in terms of quality and for the gentlemen often hand-made suits for prices you can dream about here.
Apart from that it will mainly gift shops with the obligatory Cyprus-cup/plate/vase and loads of cheap plastic toys.

The streets in Famagusta are all very narrow, follow no logical linear system and it is easy to get lost, so for the first visit it would be advisable to stay on the more busy ones before diving deeper into the maze.

To find the cities landmark, the Lala Mustafa Mosque, should be fairly easy if you just follow the street until its end and then turn left into the pedestrian zone.
The building-works on the Mosque started in ca 1300 and lasted for around 100 years. On its completion it was known as cathedral of St Nicholas, it only became a mosque when the Ottomans took over the city in 1571.
The exterior of the former cathedral is often compared with the one in Reims, and, having seen both, I must say that there is indeed quite a resemblance between the two buildings. Apart from the fact that the Cypriot cathedral has lost its two towers during the bombardment through the Ottomans, one of which has been replaced by a minaret.
You can enter the mosque through the middle of the three large gabled and canopied doorways. Be aware that you will be asked to remove your shoes and the ladies will be offered a scarf to cover their heads. If you do not think that this is very hygienic then you might like to bring your own.

Right in front of the mosque you will find a fig tree which is believed to have been planted at the same time when the building works on the cathedral started. Which would mean, that it is 700 years old and therefore probably the oldest tree on the island.

Opposite site of the Mosque you can visit what is left over of the Palazzo del Proveditore, the former Royal Palace, which was build by the Luisignan in the 13. century. Most of it was destroyed by an earthquake, and all that remains is its shell. You can explore the inside, just to get an idea of the size, and as the palace was used as a prison during the reign of the Ottomans, you might like to have a look at the Namik Kemal museum.
Namik Kemal (1840-1888), was a Turkish poet and novelist. In 1873 he wrote a play that wasn't very polite to the then ruling sultan and was therefore send to exile and imprisonment to Famagusta. He stayed in his cell for 38 months until being forgiven by Murat V.
There is also a buffet with some tables and I quite enjoyed the background with a nice cold drink.
The rest of the remaining palace is used as a parking lot.

The Othello tower and citadel is a medieval fortress that was build to guard the city and the harbour. Shakespeare referred to it in his play, hence the name. Now old Will has never been anywhere near Cyprus and the real Othello wasn't a moor, he was the Venetian governor of Famagusta of the time.
Inside of the fortress most of the rooms exist now only as shells, but the old dining hall and the kitchen are still complete. There is a staircase which leads up to the embattlement. It is quite steep and not the safest, but once you are up there you'll have a great view over both, the old and the new harbour.

If you walk along the city walls at the harbour-side of town you'll reach the Djanbullat museum, which is situated in the former armoury in the city wall.
According to the legend it was named after Djanboulat Bey of Kilis, who was a high ranking soldier in the Ottomans' army. Djanboulat was one of the commanding officers and is said to have driven his horse into a grinding knife that the Venetians had mounted to the entrance gate of the Arsenal Bastion, to make sure, the Ottomans wouldn't enter. Djanboulat and the horse both didn't survive this, but his army managed to enter the city and he became a martyr, although not the horse. A tomb was built for him and is part of the museum, which otherwise exhibits Turkish/Cypriot items of daily use, such as old clothes, tools, pictures, books and a hand-written Koran.
There are several more old curches, none of them quite as well preserved as the Lala Mustafa Mosque/ St Nicholas Cathedral , one of them used as a library now. I don't want to describe them all now, a tourist guide will be better at doing so.

Another place I always liked to visit is the open market. The market place can be found right behind the bus terminal which is signed out from the roundabout at the and of Izmet Inonue Bulvari.
Here you can buy about everything you might need, clothing, household items, flowers, fish and, incredibly fresh fruit and vegetables. You can also buy freshly pressed olive oil there, mostly made by the vendor itself and it does come very often in re-used bottles of J&B, Bells or Teachers. The quality and taste of this oil hasn't been matched by anything i have bought here in Tesco or other supermarkets yet.
The locally harvested olives that can be bought are also very recommendable. They are called cakestes and taste quite a bit different from what your supermarket here will sell you. Just give them a try, probably you will be offered one anyway.
If you are interested in the clothing you are welcome to haggle here.

For trips in the surrounding area, and I would very much recommend you to make some, as the scenery is beautiful - if not obstructed by building sites, here some of the landmarks in the east side of the island.

The first of all have to be the ruins of Salamis.
Originally built in 11 BC by Achaean and Anatolian settlers the city was abandoned around 670 AD, after some serious earthquakes and the invasion of the Arabian army. There must have also been a big change of climate as most of the remains where found nearly totally covered in sand - and wonderfully preserved.
The Salamis Haberleri (Salamis Ruins) can be found on Salamis Yolu , the main road heading north from Famagusta. At the height of the small town Yeni Bogazici you will have to turn towards the sea, but there is a brown sign, so it is not hard to find. The entrance is right next to the beach.
The whole site covers around one square mile, so plan enough time in and wear comfortable shoes (again) and bring enough to drink, as there are no drinks sold inside.
Once inside of the fence you will be left totally alone to wander around as much and long as you want.
To be seen are a roman theatre with a seating capacity of 15.000, the old roman baths, countless statues, columns, mosaics, etc. Big parts of the ancient town haven't been excavated yet, so there might well be a bit more to see on each visit.

The next stop, and very close to the ruins of Salamis is St. Barnabas monastery. It is now home to the National Museum of Antiques and exhibits mainly potteries that have been excavated in Salamis, was well as some jewellery and coins. In the church of the monastery is a collections of icons on display and the courtyard is the most peaceful place you can imagine. There is a small cafe and, as we were living not far, I came here sometimes just to sit down and read or relax.

A trip up the panhandle of the Island, the region which is known as Kantara will pass you through the donkey reservation, where more then 1000 wild donkeys are said to live. The Monastery of Apostolos Andreas, the only remaining orthodox church in the Turkish north of the island can be visited on the way. The monastery itself is not impressive enough to make the journey over the long and winding roads worth but the scenery sure is.
Especially as you'll pass from this fantastic restaurant on the way. Unfortunately I have forgotten the name, but it is hard to miss, as it is on the only road up there and has some really strange bungalows, that are build out of timber and are standing on sticks, so that its inhabitants won't get wet if the sea should get a little high. It is located at a beautiful little bay and serves the most delicious fish ever.

The last trip I want you to make leads you high up in the mountains to the castle Kantara.
It stands at an altitude of 2068 ft and the views from up there over the island are truly breathtaking, so make sure you go on a clear day.
The castle itself stands on a steep cliff which you can enter only via a hundred or also steep steps. It is therefore not accessible for wheel-chair users.
It was originally build by the Byzantines but later again altered by the various other owners of the island. Parts of the castle are still in very good condition and I loved to climb through the ruins. Be very careful with children as lots of the windows and outer walls are not secured and there is a drop of several hundred feet.

With the sightseeing and the hotels done, the next point would be where and what to eat.

Famagusta has plenty of restaurants and all of them offer a mixture of Kebabs and Meze, as well as numerous fast-food restaurants. The big names here, due to the embargo, are missing on the first glance, but having a closer look you will find a Burger King right behind the market, next to Lemar, the local supermarket giant. Now Burger King is not in breach with any international laws for opening their branch here, they have simply renamed their own product into Burger City. The outlay of the restaurant is the same as in the UK, as well as the colour-scheme and the food. It just comes with the imprint Burger City wherever you expect to find the more familiar BK. When they opened their first restaurant they forgot to put the stickers on the back of the chairs, which were meant to cover up the BK logo underneath and whoever had doubts until then about the originality could be assured that it does not only look and taste like BK, but is BK.

For your afternoon tea, Petek is a absolute must. They are in the old town of Famagusta, follow the road left to the mosque towards the city wall and the harbour. They are situated right at the end and serve the most delicious cakes and baklava - a Turkish sweet made out off puff pastry, syrup and a variety of nuts. Verrrrrry nice !!
For the best Doener Kebab in the area you'll have to go to the end of the Boulevard and visit Haci'nin Yeri. They are located, at the big roundabout, in a small shopping arcade, right opposite of the city walls main gate. They have lamb and chicken Doener kebab, shish kebab and koefte kebab on offer and there isn't one dish on the menu that, I could not recommend. The portions are on offer in small and large and the later is really huge. With a soft drink you will have to count around £4 pp.

For a traditional meze meal I would like to send you to the small town of Yeni Bogazici, about 8 kilometres away from Famagusta. They have several nice meze restaurants there and are quite famous on the island for them, but the best one is surely Kemal'in Yeri.
Summertimes they have a huge open air restaurant, and live music at the weekends. It can get a bit crowded, so a reservation won't harm. Your hotel will surely be glad to assist you there. You'll have to count around 15 £ pP, but that includes around 20 different kinds of meze (hot and cold), a full kebab and drink.

Now all this sounds very nice and it is about time to have an open word with you about the downsides of a visit to Famagusta or Northern-Cyprus.

Because of the political situation in which Cyprus is in you will find soldiers nearly everywhere and army barracks that belong to the three different armies in the area (Turkish, UN and Northern-Cypriot). These might be found by many as not a specially nice background feature for a holiday. You will be very well advised not to attempt to film or photograph any of these or you might find yourself in a hell lot of trouble.

Then Famagusta is a divided city and this becomes clearly visible when you walk through the east part of the town which is called Maras. There it can happen that one side of a street is populated while the other is sealed of with barbed wire as being situated in the ghost-town of Famagusta. The ghost-town would surely be interesting to many of you to see, but as a tourist you will be denied access. Even from the outside you can see, that nothing in there has been touched since 1974. I have been in the ghost-town itself several times and it is a very sad and depressing place to visit. There are cafes in which you can still see the glasses on the tables, garages full of abandoned cars, shops still displaying their dusty and rotten merchandise and curtains hanging in the windows. The houses are starting to fall to pieces and lovingly tended gardens are overgrown. A grizzly sight.

If you have a look around the living areas, especially if you drive through the villages, you can see clearly the effect of the embargo on the people of Northern-Cyprus. Many of the houses are in a very poor state with their owners not financially being able to fix them. young people have left the island in masses, mostly heading towards the UK or Australia for a better life and it is so often the elderly who are left behind with not much to life on, but the little bit of pension the government is paying them.

If you go shopping you will find out that Northern Cyprus is by far not as cheap as mainland Turkey and you will most probably have to spend a bit more then you might have thought in pocket money.

As soon as you leave Famagusta to head along the Salmis Yolu along the seaside you will be greeted by building sites. Hoping that the craze in buying properties abroad will bring them some income from investors from the UK and other European Countries, Northern-Cyprus has seen a building boom within the last few years that is probably unique throughout the whole Med.
The result are often enclaves of 2 storey houses which each look alike, depending on who is the builder. A lot of the scenery and unique charm that the sleepy island did hold to itself has already been lost forever and, with building regulations being lax (and money talks) there is at the moment no end to this in sight. So if you still want to see some of the unspoilt Cyprus and experience the peacefulness and tranquility than you should better go as soon as possible - while they are still there and haven't been replaced by another faceless Mediterranean resort, infested with international fast food chains, hundreds of nightclubs and amusement arcades and binge drinking tourists.

What might be seen as a very negative point by some is the absence of any night-life at all.

If you are planning to give it a try then be warned that Cyprus can get very hot in the summer month and that you should always apply sunscreen with a very high factor. I've caught the sunburn of my life in early May in Cyprus and I am not usually sensitive to sun. Best to avoid the midday heat at all, especially for children and the elderly and always take enough to drink with you if going for a trip.

If you should need medical help avoid Famagusta hospital as the standard is to die for. The private Hypokrat hospital at the Boulevard is much better and you will be well catered for.

Last tip : If you like beer then stick to Efes and avoid the mean Gold Fassl, as it tastes horrible.

Thanks for reading. Sandra  

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