The resort is inside the ghost city of Varosha: The buildings lie in an abandoned streets that used to be Cyprus tourism hotspot beloved by international celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton Spectacular images emerged of the city of Varosha in Northern Cyprus which has been abandoned since the early 70s.

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) has announced that it intends to redevelop Varosha, a once-glittering tourist resort sitting on the border with the Greek. In a dusty corner of the island, on the frontier between the Greek south and the Turkish north, a large sign proclaims in black and white letters: “No Man’s Land, Stop.”

This is the United Nations buffer zone, a windswept strip of rock, scrub and coils of barbed wire that is patrolled by UN soldiers in white Landcruisers and blue helmets.Beyond that, on the Turkish Cypriot side of the border, lies a vast ghost town called Varosha, which has been deserted and fenced off since the conflicts of 1974. But Varosha, which is under the control of the Turkish authority, may not remain a ghost town for much longer.

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) has announced that it intends to redevelop Varosha, once a glittering tourist resort that, in its heyday, attracted the likes of Brigitte Bardot, Sophia Loren and Elizabeth Taylor. The project promises to transform this surreal zone of abandoned hotels, empty apartment blocks and weed-choked streets into a booming Mediterranean playground.

Policies aimed at the reopening of the abandoned town of Varosha (Maraş) in Turkish Cyprus are on the right track, Kudret Özersay, the country’s foreign minister, has said in a written statement. Given recent developments and with Turkey’s support, Varosha could be opened to its former residents under Turkish Cypriot administration following the presidential elections scheduled for Oct. 11, Özersay said.

“Both the Greek Cypriot side and other international players understand that as long as we proceed carefully, our policy on Varosha will come alive and cannot be prevented,” Özersay said, adding that property rights will be respected. “When I put forward my vision of opening the fenced-off town of Varosha under Turkish Cypriot administration six years ago, there were people who laughed at it. Many actors and the Turkish Cypriot public now have started to support this policy,” he said.

Noting that he will pursue a proactive diplomacy in the international arena to realize this memorizing vision, Özersay said that he will always come up with an approach that generates new ideas on this issue and on other foreign policy issues.