Famagusta

Famagusta, major port in the Turkish Cypriot-administered portion of northern Cyprus. It lies on the island’s east coast in a bay between Capes Greco and Eloea and is about 37 miles (55 km) east of Nicosia. The port possesses the deepest harbor in Cyprus.

Famagusta is a Frankish corruption of its Greek name, which means “buried in the sand,” descriptive of the silted mouth of the Pedieos River north of the town. It was founded as Arsinoe by the Macedonian Egyptian king Ptolemy II (308–246 bce). An influx of Christian refugees fleeing the downfall of Acre (1291) in Palestine briefly transformed it from a tiny village into one of the richest cities in Christendom. The Lusignan kings of Cyprus were crowned as kings of Jerusalem in Famagusta’s 14th-century Gothic-style cathedral of St. Nicholas, which is now a mosque. In 1372 the port was seized by Genoa and in 1489 by Venice. The Venetians made Famagusta the capital of Cyprus and remodeled the town’s fortifications. Though ravaged by war and earthquakes, and now only partly inhabited, the old walled and bastioned town contains some of the finest examples of medieval military architecture extant. The walls are 50 feet (15 metres) high and 27 feet (8 metres) thick in places, and north of the well-preserved sea gate (rebuilt 1492) stands the citadel known as Othello’s Tower, so called because a lieutenant-governor of Cyprus (1506–08) named Christoforo Moro was allegedly the model for the title character in Shakespeare’s play Othello. Famagusta fell to the Turks after a bitter and prolonged siege in 1570–71.

The British occupied Cyprus from 1878 to 1960. They built extensive harbour installations at Famagusta, which became a naval base in World War II. During the British administration, a modern suburb called Varosha was developed south of Famagusta as a commercial centre and tourist resort. After the Turkish intervention in 1974, Varosha was sealed off to civilians and tourism ceased. Settlers from mainland Turkey were relocated in Famagusta, parts of Varosha (after 1976), and in the surrounding citrus-growing areas. Famagusta is now home to the Eastern Mediterranean University, which opened in 1986. Ferry service, begun in 1978 between Mersin, Turkey, and Latakia, Syria, includes Famagusta in its run. Pop. (2006) 34,803.