More details can be revealed of plans to transform the abandoned resort of the stars on Cyprus into the “Vegas of the Med” after the Royal household was forced to distance King Charles from a growing diplomatic row.
A new image has been sent to Express.co.uk of the plans for Varosha (Greek name) or Maras (Turkish name), which was abandoned 50 years ago this year as a result of the civil war in Cyprus which divided the island in two.
The image of stage 2 of the plan by a consortium of billionaires has been passed to Express.co.uk after the President of the Republic of Cyprus ordered diplomats at the High Commission in London to launch an investigation into the proposals.
Varosha/ Maras was abandoned after Turkish forces pressed south in 1974 after they intervened as a guarantor power to protect the Turkish Cypriots following a Greek Cypriot military coup on the island which attempted to unite the country with Greece.
While the Greek Cypriots claim Turkey invaded and is an occupying power, Turkey and Turkish Cypriots point out that the intervention followed attempts of suspected ethnic cleansing on the island of the Turkish Cypriot population.
Now Express.co.uk can reveal the image for a plan for the town which could include a hotel that the authorities in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) claim belongs to King Charles.
On the south side of Varosha/Maras stands the Golden Sands Hotel which opened in 1974 and is purported to have been the first ever seven-star hotel.
The hotel was so big that it had an internal mini railway to take guests around.
According to local officials including Ersin Tatar, the President of the TRNC, which is unrecognised by the international community outside Turkey, the hotel belonged to the late Queen Elizabeth II and now would be owned by King Charles. A spokesman for the King has said the claim is “something we do not recognise”.
The hotel opened briefly in 1974 but was closed within weeks when the war broke out which left Varosha/Maras a ghost town with a United Nations presence but in the jurisdiction of the TRNC under Turkey’s protection.
Now the new plans for Varosha/Maras could include the site and potentially drag the King into a row with the Republic of Cyprus and UN objecting to the proposals.
The proposal to transform Varosha/Maras comes after five decades of frustration over attempts to reunite the island.
The last serious plan in 2004 brokered by former UN General Secretary Kofi Annan was accepted by the TRNC but rejected by the Republic of Cyprus, a Commonwealth country which was then allowed to join the EU despite reneging on the deal.
Since then talks have floundered although the UN’s General Secretary Antonio Guterres reportedly plans to visit Cyprus this year to try to get talks going again.
But after the south rejected federal reunification plans on multiple occasions, TRNC President Tatar has insisted on a two-state solution with the backing of Turkey’s President Recep Erdogan.
Tatar reopened Varosha for visitors in 2020 and has invited Greek Cypriots to reclaim properties in the town.
In its heyday Varosha/Maras was the play place of the stars including Hollywood movie legends Raquel Welsh, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. Italian film icon Sophia Loren owned a beachfront house in Varosha/Maras.
Among the empty properties in what has been described as “a monument to diplomatic failure” are 45 hotels, 3,000 commercial properties, 60 apartment hotels, 21 banks, 25 museums, 20 theatres and museums, and 99 entertainment venues.
Under the new proposals, Varosha/Maras would be restored to its place as one of the world’s top holiday destinations. Dozens of casinos, luxury hotels and resorts, shops and fine dining restaurants are planned.
Dr Muhammet Yasarata, Chairman and CEO of the Paradise and Premier Group of Companies, a leading luxury tour operator in North Cyprus, Turkey and Malta said: “For too long America has held Las Vegas as a shining example of what can be achieved through strategic investment. It is about time Europe had a contender to attract tourists from all corners of the globe.”
