Famagusta (Magusa) is small and busy city of about 30,000 people with large suburbs spreading out from the central old walled city. Before the Turks invaded in 1974 Famagusta was a major world tourist destination. Today it is a shadow of its former self but nevertheless has many attractions.

That Famagusta is still a divided city is most evident in the vast former tourist strip at Variosa, also called Maras. Its hotels and restaurants were once byword for upmarket tourism. But the Turkish Army marched in, sealed it off and that's the way it remains today, its luxury hotels standing empty, derelict and forlorn.

The ancient city of Famagusta was founded around 400BC and overshadowed by its illustrious neighbour Salamis. Following the fall of Acre in 1291 it became a refuge for Christians fleeing the Holy Land and grew into one of the richest cities in the Eastern Mediterranean. Many churches, some splendidly lavish, were built and many still remain, though in a dilapidated state.

Most modern day visitors head straight for the old walled city and get a bit of a surprise - it looks pretty much like a bombsight. Damaged and half-finished buildings are common and the houses are in very poor state of repair. Streets are also very narrow and laid out to no particular plan so it's easy to get lost. Visitors are advised to stay on the main routes until they know their way around.

The beaches to east of the city are still sealed off with barbed wire and warning signs but those to the north have reopened and welcome increasing tourist numbers each year. The north coast road however looks like a permanent building site with holiday apartments and small houses being built at a quite alarming rate.

The sprawling Venetian defence works completely encompass the old city, punctuated by 15 bastions and gates. The walls are not particularly high, only about 17m at most and about 9m thick. And despite many city buildings lying in ruins, the walls themselves are remarkably intact and form a large 3.5km rectangle. It's not possible to walk around the whole wall as parts have been turned into military posts but there are several points where you can climb up and enjoy a view of the old city. Worth seeing are the two entrance gates in the walls, prosaically named Land Gate and Sea Gate and the bastions around Othello's Tower.

Originally built in the 12th century as an extension to the main wall, Othello's Tower was designed to protect the harbour. It was strengthened in 1492 as an artillery post. Above the main entrance is the impressive Venetian lion carving, inscribed with the name of the architect Nicolo Foscari. The citadel actually comprises various several towers and a large courtyard with the artillery chamber, refectory and some living quarters.
The connection with Shakespeare's Othello is tenuous, the 'Moor's' play is set in Cyprus and Christofor Moro was once a local governor. Other than wandering around the walls, peeking into the empty chambers and enjoying the views there is not a lot to do. The refectory and kitchens are still complete and a steep staircase takes you up to the battlements where there are fine views over both the old and new harbours.

If you walk along the city walls at the harbour-side of town you'll reach the Canbulat or Djanbullat Museum in a former city wall armoury. According to the legend Canbulat Bey, a soldier in the Ottoman Army, drove his horse into a spiked wheel mounted at the entrance gate, destroying himself, the horse and the wheel and precipitating the fall of the city to the Ottomans in 1571 after a 10 month siege. His tomb is part of the museum which otherwise exhibits a rather tired and flyblown collection of Turkish and Cypriot household items such as clothes, pictures and books and various cultural and religious artifacts such as a hand-written Koran. There is also a display detailing the 1974 invasion of the town.

This enormous mosque is one of Famagusta's best-known landmarks. Work began on it in 1298 and it took about 100 years to finish. On completion it was the Cathedral of Agios Nikoloas and is the finest example of Lusignan Gothic architecture in Cyprus. The exterior is often compared to Rheims Cathedral. It was badly damaged in the Ottoman siege and its two towers destroyed, to be replaced with an incongruous minaret. You enter through three large gabled and canopied doorways - you will be asked to remove your shoes and the women must wear a scarf. Inside, former Christian murals have been whitewashed over in proper Islamic fashion but the architectural details are impressive. In front of the mosque is a fig tree said to be as old as the mosque itself.

Opposite the mosque are the remains of the former Royal Palace built by Luisignan in the 13th century though much of it has been destroyed by earthquakes. All that's left are a few stone arches and some desultory cannon balls. The single remaining structure is the old prison which once held one of Turkey's best-known poets and playwrights Namik Kemal (1840-1888). He was locked up for six years after penning a play that offended the Sultan at the time. There is a small museum with a cafe and some pleasant tables here.

That Famagusta is a divided city is obvious from the number of soldiers standing about the streets and the ugly barracks and checkpoints that belong to the three different armies based there - Turkish, UN and Northern-Cypriot. The division is most notoriously visible in the Maras or Varosia area. Before 1974 the area was a thriving Greek community that owned and ran most of the luxury hotels and fine restaurants. They fled before the advancing Turkish Army and have never returned. The Turks took it over and sealed it off. To this day it is uninhabited.
One side of the street can be busy and well populated and the other sealed off with barbed wire - the notorious ' ghost-town' of Famagusta now a UN buffer zone. Despite being denied access you can clearly see little has been touched since 1974. There are cafes with glasses still on the tables, cars stand in their showrooms and shops display dusty and rotting merchandise. It's a haunting sight.

Accommodation
Most visitors tend to stay in the resort hotels that line the bay and these are booked up by charter flights and tour operators. There are a few hotels inside the city walls and some have aircon and TV. Five star luxury hotels include the Palm Beach and Salamis Bay Conti Resort. There are hotels in surrounding resorts for those who prefer to be out of the city, notably at Bogaz and on the Karpas peninsula at Golden Beach and Turtle Bay

Eating out
Most tourists in Famagusta opt for full board at the hotels fringing the shore but there is a wide selection of restaurants and bars along the sea front that are worth a visit. Cypriot, Arab and French cuisine is on offer and the further you venture inland the cheaper and better they get.

Transport
There are no buses in the city centre but this is not a problem as sights are all easily walkable provided you stick to the main routes and don't get lost in the maze of alleyways.
Long distance buses use the Octobus Terminus on Gazi Mustafa Kemal Bulvan to the west of the centre with services to Nicosia and Kyrenia. Minibuses and service taxis use the alternative Itimat Bus Station near the large landmark statue of Ataturk to the south at Land Gate. There are regular minibuses to Nicosia and to Kyrenia.
Ferries to Turkey dock at the port to the east and sail to Mersin on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. The trip takes about 12hrs.
A few private taxi firms operate in Famagusta and fares are fixed. The taxi stand is near the Sea Gate.

Money
The bank is in the main square opposite the Lala Mustafa Pala Mosque where there is an ATM. Exchange office are on nearby Istiklal Caddesi and often open late at night.

The main beach in Famagusta was cordoned off by the Turks after the 1974 invasion and still remains closed today. North of the town are a string of beaches that reach right up into the wild Karpas peninsular.

Palm Beach Hotel
This was just about the only hotel not to escape the Turkish invasion and its beach is just about the only one remaining in Famagusta itself.

Glapsides Beach
About 4km north out of Famagusta is a sign for Glapsides Beach. This public beach is only 200m from the Bediz Beach and one of the busiest. It is a long and sandy beach with shallow water way out from the shore. Facilities include a restaurant, bar, mini market, showers, sun loungers and dolphin rides. The beach is popular with young people and the air is filled with club music from frequent summer night dance parties.

Bediz Beach
Well signposted from every direction Bediz public beach makes a popular and pleasant stop for those who have walked around the extensive ruins. It is a pleasant sandy strip with a restaurant, showers, sun loungers and sunshades.

Silver Beach
Silver Beach is another that is popular with visitors to the Ancient Salamis ruins and about 8km north out of Famagusta itself. There is a sandy beach that shelves gently in to the sea, making it very safe for children. A reef encloses a small lagoon which extends way past a cape before disappearing. Those who enjoy snorkelling can investigate the ruins of the submerged ancient jetty.

Bafra
About 9km beyond the resort of Bogaz and just beyond the village of Mehmetcik is the relatively untouched beach of Bafra. Untouched for now but two large hotels are being built to open in 2007 so it won't stay quiet for long. It is a calm, quiet sandy beach with sun loungers and a pleasant restaurant.

Salamis is one of Cyprus's main archeological sites. It's about 9km north of Famagusta and reasonably well signposted. The site is large, about one square mile so allow at least half a day for a visit, plan your route, wear comfortable shoes and take drinks with you as there are no cafes inside. Once inside the fence you can pretty much wander where you wish.
Ancient Salamis was one of 10 city kingdoms in Cyprus and goes back to the 11th century BC. It rose to prominence in the 6th century BC with a royal court and a mint for its own coins. The Persians destroyed the city in 306BC but it flourished again under the Romans from about 60BC. Fortunes grew and fell, often in the wake of earthquakes until a series of natural calamities, the harbour silting up and attacks by Arab raiders all helped to finish it off. Around 650, the inhabitants fled to what is now Famagusta.
What remains today is a huge and sprawling site with a fair number of walls and columns to see. Much of the stone was carried away to build Famagusta but the main areas of interest are a gymnasium and baths, a theatre from the time of Augustus, some Roman villas and a couple of basilicas. After trudging round the ruins visitors can enjoy decent beach nearby (see Famagusta beaches) and handy restaurants for lunch.

Gymnasium and baths
The large complex is surrounded with column arcades on all four sides. SOme of the columns originally belonged to the theatre and were moved here after earthquakes in the 4th century. Two swimming pools are sited at the two ends of the eastern colonnade. On one of the walls is a surviving 3rd century fresco fragment of Hylas, the boyfriend of Heracles of golden fleece fame. The baths are flanked by sweat rooms where there are some mosaic fragments.

Theatre
The theatre dates from the time of Augustus and originally consisted of 50 rows of seats for more than 15,000 spectators. Performances took place on the raised stage decorated with statues. After it was destroyed by earthquakes in the 4th century it was demolished and building materials used on other parts of the site. Today it has been restored as far as it can be and is used for occasional events

Roman Villas
This two-storey villa has a reception hall with an inner courtyard with a columned portico. The living quarters were grouped around the courtyard. After the city was abandoned it was used as an oil mill. A large millstone in the reception hall was used to press the olives.

Kampanopetra Basilica
This basilica was built in the 4th century and consisted of a courtyard surrounded with columns and a nave with aisles. It ended with a triple apse. The bishop's throne and seats for clergy were situated in the central apse. At the back of the apse were baths and a sweating room. One of the rooms has a very fine mosaic floor.

Ayios Epiphianos Basilica
This was once the largest basilica in Cyprus and the principal church of Salamis from 386-403. The bishop's tomb still lies encased in marble. A nave was separated from the aisles by two rows of 14 columns. Rooms on each side of the apse were used for dressing and storage. The church was destroyed in the 7th century during the Arab raids. The ruins at the back of the southern apse belong to a smaller church built after the original was destroyed.

Agora
This was the meeting place and market of Salamis. Two sides were lined with columned arcades to provide shade in summer and shelter in winter. Only one of the columns has survived. The courtyard has temples dedicated to gods of commerce and was once decorated with statues and fountains.

Temple Of Zeus
The present day ruins is from the Roman period and built on an earlier Hellenic one. The shrine had the right to grant asylum. During excavations inscriptions of Livia, Augustus' consort, and the god Zeus were discovered.

Water Reservoir
A Roman system of earthen pipes and conduits on a 50 kilometre aqueduct brought water to the city from neighbouring Kyhrea. This water system continued to function till the 7th century. The walls and the remains of 36 square pillars for the water cisterns have survived. As well as pillars holding the cisterns, the ceiling was supported by massive corbels.

Kantara castle may be one of the least elevated of Cyprus castles but it is certainly one of the most impressive and the best preserved. It dates back at least to Richard Lionheart who seized it in 1191. Though never more than a minor garrison, its position alone - perched on top a mighty bluff of rock - makes it well worth a visit. Its importance faded in the 16th century and it became little more than a beacon lookout post to warn the garrison at Buffavento Castle of any approaching enemy troops.
The castle has a well preserved northern section with impressive towers and walls. The outer entrance leads to the barbican with a couple of squat towers guarding the entrance proper. At the highest point, naturally, is the lookout tower which gives views to the sea on both sides of the peninsular and on a clear day a glimpse of Turkey. The view from the roof of the northern tower is best but not for the foolhardy. It is a sheer drop from the narrow, unfenced area.
You get a good map and potted history with your entrance ticket but families should keep children on a tight reign as there are some seriously dangerous unfenced areas and uncapped holes to fall into. Kantara is most easily reached from Bogaz on the east coast - a 50 minute drive. From Kyrenia allow about 90 minutes by car. There is no public transport to the castle.

The long peninsula of the Karpas or Kirpasa is little visited yet it has some of the best beaches on Cyprus. There are plans to turn much of it into a nature reserve to protect the landscape and wildlife. Large expanses of immaculate dunes fringe both sides of the peninsular or panhandle (it being line the handle of a frying pan. But you have to be a little adventurous to go there. There are few asphalt roads a reliable, off-road vehicle is essential.

Nangomi Beach
The sight of the beach is worth all the effort it takes to get there. This is the most magnificent beach in the whole Cyprus, a huge, great crescent of golden sand backed by sweeping dunes and broken into two unequal parts by a distinctive promontory.

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