Famagusta is located on the east coast of Cyprus. After the defeat of the Latin Christians in the Crusades, Cyprus become a kingdom ruled by the "Frankish" dynasty of Lusignan. This was in 1192, when Richard the Lion Heart turned the island over to Guy de Lusignan, who styled himself King of Jerusalem. In 1489 the Venetian Republic gained control of the island, until it was conquered by the Ottoman Turks in 1571.
During the Frankish and Venetian eras Famagusta was at its height. Its walls were built by the Venetians, and one of its towers is known as Othello's Tower, after the character in Shakespeare's play, much of which was set here. At one point Famagusta was the richest city in Europe.
But it never recovered from the long Turkish siege of 1571, and one still hears of residents finding old canon balls dating from the events of that year.
When the Germans and Italians bombed Cyprus in 1940 and '41 my father's family would often hide within the thick walls of the old city for protection. For many years the old city has been inhabited by Turkish Cypriots. The Varosha district south of the old city was almost wholly Greek, and it was a vibrant holiday resort in the 1960s. This changed in 1974. Since then Varosha is uninhabited, although the Turkish Cypriot government has in principle conceded it to the Greek Cypriot government in the south. However, after three decades of decay, it is estimated that it would require more than one billion dollars (US) to bring it up to living standards.
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