The town of Maras in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) has started to host visitors after the country began relaxing restrictions to curb the novel coronavirus outbreak.
On Monday, the TRNC gradually started lifting the virus restrictions as the number of cases dropped.
Partially opened on Oct. 8, 2020 after staying as a "ghost town" for decades in the wake of Turkey's 1974 Peace Operation, Maras has attracted both people living in the TRNC, as well as foreign tourists, with the environment and landscape around the town also boosting its appeal.
After 46 years of neglect, the buildings in the coastal town of Maras in TRNC are decaying and roads crumbling. But the town has partially reopened, and as @HyderAbbasi reports, it stands as a symbol of the island's division. pic.twitter.com/AF3sYKbyP4
— Strait Talk (@StraitTalkTRT) October 19, 2020
Some 111,500 people have visited the town, also known as Varosha, since its reopening, according to information from authorities.
The coastline of the abandoned town of Maras in the Turkish Cypriot city of Gazimagusa reopened on Thursday. Maras was a ghost town where entry is forbidden, except for Turkish army personnel stationed in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). pic.twitter.com/l6mxB3VVTh
— ANews (@anews) October 9, 2020
The town, which has gotten busier especially on the weekends, is expected to host more visitors in summer.
Simge Garip, a student, told Anadolu Agency that Maras did not deserve to remain closed. The whole world should see this beauty, she added.
"It's good that Maras is reopened. It's as if we were traveling in the past," said Ramazan Atasoy, who works in the TRNC.
"Maras contains a large part of Gazimagusa. If it's fully opened, it would be very good for the country and it would contribute to tourism," said Faruk Talay, another student.
Gunay Aydogan, a resident of the TRNC, said he had visited Maras four times since its reopening.
On Nov. 15, 2020, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the town on the occasion of the 37th anniversary of the establishment of the TRNC.
The island of Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece’s annexation of the island was followed by violence against the island’s Turks and Ankara’s intervention as a guarantor power.
Closed to visitors for 45 years, the so-called ghost-town of Maras in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus will soon be bustling with life once more pic.twitter.com/WOMJPO57st
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) August 29, 2019
It has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Turkey, Greece, and the UK. The TRNC was founded in 1983.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
