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.

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 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.

A bit of the history of Famagusta and Cyprus :

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

Pictures of Famagusta (Gazimagusa)

Salamis ruins

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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.

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 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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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

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.

Thanks for reading. Sandra