One billion and 400 million euros, the amount of compensation required for the original property owners of the city of Marash

A Part of the closed Marash area opened after 46 years in Northern Cyprus.

Marash is a coastal tourist area that was the center of tourism for Europe and the Middle East in the 1960s. During the Turkish military operations in 1974, the Greek population left the area and settled in the south. After the operation, a military zone was declared prohibited .

A Part of the public beach in Varosha, which has been closed to settlement in North Cyprus since 1974, and Democracy Street were opened to the public as of October 8, 2020.

The Security Forces Commandement of the Turkish Administration in Northern Cyprus announced that “a part of Varosha was opened for pedestrian visits between 09:00 and 17:00, according to certain rules, as of today.”
Although the use of drones is prohibited, taking pictures in the area is free.

In the first stage, brochures are distributed in the area where people and journalists are allowed to enter accompanied by soldiers and police, and warnings are issued to heed the rules. The police wait in the prohibited areas.
On the beach the barbed wire has been removed, the area is now open, about 2.5 kilometers from the Golden Sands Hotel to the Palm Beach Hotel. In order to enter the sea, approximately 1.5 kilometers of coastline between the Army House and the Golden Sands Hotel, which is used by the Turkish army, has been opened to the public.
Marash is located in the Green Zone on the island separating North and South Cyprus, the Green Line is under UN control. However, Turkey declared Marash area as a Turkish military zone in Varosha, the area is not under UN control despite being on the Green Line.

This region, in which the majority of the Greek population lived before 1974, is an important part of the property rights conflicts and is one of the most important issues in the Cypriot problem.

In August, news media in Turkey and Northern Cyprus, up to that date for real estate in Varosha, submitted to the Cyprus Immovable Real Estate Commission of Northern Cyprus a request for 281 requests for restitution. The immovable property covered by these applications covers half of the Marash area.

Meanwhile, Northern Cyprus announced that the original property owners could apply to return their property to them under the rule of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
193 of the applicants demanded the return of their properties, and the others demanded compensation of 1.4 billion euros.