 | Famagusta Off the Beaten Path | Tips 1 - 2 of 2 |  |
Popular Off the Beaten Path | Other Off the Beaten Path Tips | All Tips (2) On the way back from Apostolos Andreas Monastery (half way to Famagusta) we have noticed a path and a something resembling a sign leading to the ruins of the Aya Trias Basilica. it was dark, and we hardly could find the place. but looking for it was worth the effort.
there was the box office at the entrance, but since it was after hours, it was closed. well, the gate was not :)
inside we have discovered beautiful floor mosaics, floral and geometrical patterns, in unbelievably good condition (taking into account that lay open air, no coverage a top
of them. well, it doesn't rain often in Cypris, but still...
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Maras (also known as Varosia) is Famagusta's the forbidden city - a city within a city, uninhabited, abandoned, deserted, closed off to people, locals and visitors alike. Once upon a time in this area of town there was a thriving and wealthy Greek community - then in 1974 before the advancing Turkish Army they fled to the south and never returned.
I'm not sure this is the real story behind it... the area is sealed off with barbed wire, photography is not allowed and its streets cannot be walked, but you can stand by the "allowed" side of the fence and look into it. We saw houses with plates and glasses seen on the tables, and an old battered suitcase left on a window, as if someone was leaving in a hurry and had decided carrying his/her own suitcase would have slowed their escape.
Maras has left me puzzled. We did not see anyone near the area, except a few children from a nearby house, an old man and three UN vehicles. Despite begin a safe place, I felt very much uncomfortable and was longing to get away from it... something in the recent present went awfully wrong there, and I have the feeling that the stories told, by both sides, are hiding something... something I may not want to know. Leave a Comment
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on May 18, 2007
on November 10, 2007
