The Varosi Ghost Town in Cyprus – Nomadic Boys

Varosi Ghost Town - The Nomadic Boys

Visiting the Varosi Ghost Town in Cyprus

“That would have been my home if things turned out differently”.

Staring at the dilapidated and abandoned buildings in the Varosi ghost town of Famagusta in Northern Cyprus, my uncle points at a specific block of apartments set right on the beachfront (cordoned off by the Turkish military) and told me it belonged to my family.

In an alternative reality, this would have been where I would have grown up.

Every time I see the famed ghost town in Northern Cyprus I always wonder, “What if the Turkish invasion had worked out differently and I grew up herea as a gay man on the Famagusta beachfront instead of suburbia North London?”

In the summer of 1974, Turkish troops invaded Northern Cyprus and displaced 170,000 Greek Cypriots, which included all of my family. Most displaced Greek Cypriots either moved to Southern Cyprus or to the UK (Cyprus was a former British colony). My family was part of the large influx of Greek Cypriot refugees that fled to London.

By Stefan Arestis – Full Story at the Nomadic Boys

Cyprus Gay Travel Resources

Gay Life in Turkey – The Nomadic Boys

Gay Life in Turkey - The Nomadic Boys

Gay Life in Turkey From a Local

“There was a time when Turkey was way more progressive and Western-facing. It had a high level of freedom of speech and Istanbul even had one of the biggest Pride Marches in the world”.

So said our buddy Saf, an openly gay born-and-bred local from Ankara. In fact, there was a time when this beautiful country was a queer haven – at least it still is for LGBTQ people in the Middle East and in the Arab world which are home to some of the most dangerous places in the world for LGBTQ people.

We fell in love with Turkey when Sertab Erener won Eurovision in 2003 with the banger of a track “Everyway That I Am”, which became a staple in every gay club around the world. Sadly, Turkey withdrew from the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013, and hasn’t participated since! The country we know today went the other way – Pride events are banned each year and LGBTQ laws are almost non-existent.

We got the lowdown on what gay life in Turkey is like now from Saf, who also told us about the scene across the country, and what life was like growing up there.

By Stefan Arestis – Full Story at the Nomadic Boys

Turkey Gay Travel Resources