Famagusta, Cyprus - Forty years since the jet-set graced Varosha's beaches, former residents of the one-time "Riviera of Cyprus" hope Friday's renewed talks between the divided island's leaders could see them finally return home.
What was once one of the eastern Mediterranean's premier travel destinations today resembles a barren moonscape, with kilometres (miles) of razor wire dissecting the abandoned coastline.
Crumbling houses, flats on the verge of collapse, a skeleton of a petrol station: Varosha still bears the scars of the 1974 Cyprus conflict.
Around 45,000 people once lived in the neighbourhood, part of the eastern town of Famagusta that used to be known as the "pearl" of Cyprus.
Tourists came from across Europe and beyond to enjoy Varosha's pristine beaches and turquoise waters. Sophia Loren owned a house there, and it was a favourite of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
Its heyday was short-lived, however.
In 1974, in response to an Athens-engineered coup attempting to unite Cyprus with Greece, Turkish troops invaded the north of the island.
The self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was unilaterally declared in 1983 in a move recognised only by Ankara. Varosha residents were forced to flee south and the town remains occupied by Turkish troops to this day.
Round after round of UN-brokered peace talks have failed to resolve the Cyprus dispute, leaving many displaced Cypriots with little more than memories of their former lives.
"They were the best years," says George Fialas, who was 19 when Varosha was invaded.
"We were really careless and restless young people. I still have memories from friends going from one club to the other."
Fialas, now 59, still remembers the day he and his family had to leave Varosha.
"All our dreams, everything that we knew, everything that was granted to us, was taken away," he says. "We were stunned."
AFP
