The Resorts
Northern Cyprus
2024
Areas visited in November 2024 have included revisitation to the ghost town of Varosha, Famagusta, as well as new resort development sites in the Yeni Iskele region. A large number of significant developments are appearing in the landscape on the east of the island, north of Famagusta.
Above: The iconic beach area of Varosha was a site I first visited in 2017. The then 'ghost town' was highly restricted in terms of access, having been cordoned off after the 1974 invasion by Turkish troops. However, as of 2020, the site has controversially been partially opened up to the public. Newly refurbished streets can now be accessed by foot, bike, electric scooter or golf cart, in a somewhat strange atmosphere of a dark tourist site - but one where people who previously owned a personal property or business can view the shell of a former life (see contact sheet, right).
The four images above are an attempt to interpret this ruined site but without resorting to the all-too-obvious approach of photographing ruins. The natural growth of the last 50 years creates a fascinating screen to the lurking architecture of this controversial site.
The area of Yeni Iskele (which translates as New Quay) north of Famagusta has become a site of large scale housing and holiday resort construction.
Branded by one construction company as 'NorthernLAND' the area now sees a mixture of independent developers and major companies developing new housing and new high-rise resorts which emerge in the otherwise flat landscape of the region and on the edge of the eastern Mediterranean.
One site in particular, the Grand Sapphire Resort & Casino, boasts the largest swimming pool on the island, at 4,000 sq metres, in a format that 'replicates' a Maldives beach (with the Mediterranean only a matter of metres away).
Another resort draws on ancient and modern contexts of Roman nomenclature - Caesar Resort - that would not feel out of place in Las Vegas.
Left: Zagidas café and patisserie, in Park Residence, Long Beach, Yeni Iskele.
Below: Grand Sapphire Resort, under construction, as of November 2024.
