Can you go into Famagusta (Varosha) without getting caught? Has anyone done it?

“https://www.tripadvisor.co.za/FAQ_Answers-g190375-d3587617-t3986633-Can_you_walk_around_famgusta.html”: This link has a guy saying you can’t even hold a camera up without being yelled at if you’re at a beach. I was watching a documentary series where a guy tried to film but almost got arrested (and the camera was in his glasses)

Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I did not remember the story or even realize the conflict was ongoing. I looked at the pictures of the International airport in Nicosia and now know what 50 years of bird dropping look like.

The way it’s described it must be hard / next to impossible to do that.

I can’t answer the original question, so feel free to flag this response.

With that said, my partner and I spent 10 days in Cyprus this past April or May. We stayed in the capital city of Nicosia. Just to clarify, Cyprus is a country; it is not under Greece’s rule.

The country has a fascinating history. Several other countries have taken control of it at one time or another due to its strategic location in the Mediterranean Sea.

In 1974, a dispute broke out in Cyprus by the Greeks and Turks. Both were attempting to claim the land. It got messy for a bit, and the UN has stepped in to attempt to sort out matters peacefully.

What is in Nicosia now are tall walls separating Northen Nicosia, occupied by the Turks, and the rest of the country, occupied by Cypriots. The slim line of land that runs from east to west is called the Green Zone, managed by the UN.

We had no issues finding the passport control point in Nicosia and getting into the Turkish-occupied side. Nor, did it seem, anyone else coming or going. We did it again on another day from a different area manned by the UN, meaning we strolled through part of The Green Zone. No issues. It was all quite fascinating.

I got the impression that controls in place were just a formality, and no one was really bothered, as long as one had a valid passport.

Based upon the article, it sounds pretty much the same. The control standards have loosened over who can cross the border.

@Pied_Pfeffer Good response. I won’t flag, It answered other questions I had but didn’t write

Thank you. Cyprus is a fascinating country to visit. One can spend time on the beaches, which is what most tourists seem to do, or spend time in it in the capital city, which is what we did. One can do both if they have enough time.

For us, staying in the Nicosia area was enough. The number of museums devoted to the country’s history provided a solid education on its history. We stayed in a really nice apt. that had everything needed for a minimal cost, and we were able to walk anywhere needed. The only time transport was necessary was to go to or from the airport.

One day, we went to Cairo, Egypt, for about 24 hours. It’s not far from Cyprus, so we took advantage of it. In that time we saw the Pyramids, the Sphinx, toured the Cairo Museum, and dined on a cruise on The Nile River. It was only a taste of Egypt, but worth it.