News Agencies – Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ersin Tatar said Tuesday that beaches in the long-abandoned town of Varosha (Maraş) in the northern part of Cyprus will open Thursday.
“We see the Varosha issue as a national cause, which is above politics,” Tatar said, speaking at a joint press conference with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Presidential Complex in Ankara.
“God willing, we will start to use the Maras beach on Thursday morning together with our people,” Tatar said.
“We hope that the whole of Maras is opened to use after ongoing work is completed by respecting property rights,” Erdogan said, pledging support for Turkish Cypriot officials.
During month of August, Prime Minister Tatar participated in the joint live broadcast of TRT and BRT and said, “Varosha is most definitely going to be opened. The tide has shifted, a new page has been turned“. While referring to Northern Cyprus, he said, “Varosha lies within TRNC territory,” he said. “Nobody can take it from us. We are successfully continuing on our path. The inventory work is almost complete, we are in the opening phase.”
Varosha was a famous resort region in Cyprus which boasted a capacity of 10,000 beds across more than 100 hotels, however, it has been closed since 1974.
