What planes did the Turks use to bomb Famagusta?
Discussion
I enjoyed my first holiday in Cyprus last month and took the day trip to Famagusta in Turkish-controlled Northern Cyprus. The invasion may have been 44 years ago, but the sight of the derelict 7km stretch of 350 "ghost town" hotels still shocks.
Whilst I was there, I wondered what aircraft the Turkish Air Force used for the bombing and frankly, why they needed to bomb a holiday resort, completely strip it and then leave it abandoned seemingly forever. I don't think the Cypriots had any Air Force of their own to defend themselves. Was there ever a film or documentary made about the events?
Here's some piccies of the seafront.
Bomb damaged hotel with collapsed lift shaft.
Sundry looted seafront hotels.
Whilst I was there, I wondered what aircraft the Turkish Air Force used for the bombing and frankly, why they needed to bomb a holiday resort, completely strip it and then leave it abandoned seemingly forever. I don't think the Cypriots had any Air Force of their own to defend themselves. Was there ever a film or documentary made about the events?
Here's some piccies of the seafront.
Bomb damaged hotel with collapsed lift shaft.
Sundry looted seafront hotels.
According to Wikipedia they were using
F5's
RF-84F's (photo reconnaissance role)
F-100's
F-102's
F-105's
All except the F-100's designed to be capable of delivering conventional unguided bombs (the F100 could be equipped with rockets).
I think the whole area was bombed and shelled (by naval and conventional artillery) as the Greeks were retreating through there, but I'm no expert on that particular conflict.
F5's
RF-84F's (photo reconnaissance role)
F-100's
F-102's
F-105's
All except the F-100's designed to be capable of delivering conventional unguided bombs (the F100 could be equipped with rockets).
I think the whole area was bombed and shelled (by naval and conventional artillery) as the Greeks were retreating through there, but I'm no expert on that particular conflict.
The looting and strafing was pretty indiscriminate. At least according to the first-hand accounts I have heard (albeit one-sided).
My mother's family was from Cyprus (from a village in the Northern half). My relations who fled from the invasion were strafed on the road in civilian cars. The looting was extreme as the Turks expected to be ejected after a few weeks. The island was, in theory protected by a three-way agreement that Greece, Turkey and the UK would protect its independence. The Turks probably assumed that the British would roll out of their bases and tell them to go home. That never happened.
My uncle was head of the customs division in the area, so knew the British Army very well. He asked a British Officer to go to his house a few days after the invasion to close the doors (they left in the clothes they stood in). He knew any valuable contents would have been looted but he assumed he'd be able to return once the Turks left. He just wanted the house to be secured in the meantime. The British Army officer called him after he'd visited and apologised. He couldn't do it. The house didn't have doors or windows any more. The house no longer had anything in it. It didn't even have sanitary ware - baths, loos, sinks were all gone. It was a bare shell.
Allegedly, the troop ships that deposited the army returned to Turkey with anything that wasn't nailed down.
However, Famagusta was a disaster long before the Turks turned up and one that was all of the Cypriots' making. Arguably the best beach on the island, the land owners threw up taller and taller hotels to milk the tourist trade. A lack of planning controls and the corruption/nepotism that was rife ensured that there was no thought that went into the developments. As a result, it was an ugly mess and the sun would go behind the hotels and throw the beach into shade in the early afternoon.
My mother's family was from Cyprus (from a village in the Northern half). My relations who fled from the invasion were strafed on the road in civilian cars. The looting was extreme as the Turks expected to be ejected after a few weeks. The island was, in theory protected by a three-way agreement that Greece, Turkey and the UK would protect its independence. The Turks probably assumed that the British would roll out of their bases and tell them to go home. That never happened.
My uncle was head of the customs division in the area, so knew the British Army very well. He asked a British Officer to go to his house a few days after the invasion to close the doors (they left in the clothes they stood in). He knew any valuable contents would have been looted but he assumed he'd be able to return once the Turks left. He just wanted the house to be secured in the meantime. The British Army officer called him after he'd visited and apologised. He couldn't do it. The house didn't have doors or windows any more. The house no longer had anything in it. It didn't even have sanitary ware - baths, loos, sinks were all gone. It was a bare shell.
Allegedly, the troop ships that deposited the army returned to Turkey with anything that wasn't nailed down.
However, Famagusta was a disaster long before the Turks turned up and one that was all of the Cypriots' making. Arguably the best beach on the island, the land owners threw up taller and taller hotels to milk the tourist trade. A lack of planning controls and the corruption/nepotism that was rife ensured that there was no thought that went into the developments. As a result, it was an ugly mess and the sun would go behind the hotels and throw the beach into shade in the early afternoon.
Eric Mc said:
F-105s?
I thought only the USAF operated those.
I would have thought F-100s and possibly the F-5s would have been the bomb droppers. They also had F-104s although I'm not sure what version they had at the time.,
Could have been F-104's... I was typing quickly and CBA double checking now I thought only the USAF operated those.
I would have thought F-100s and possibly the F-5s would have been the bomb droppers. They also had F-104s although I'm not sure what version they had at the time.,
AstonZagato said:
The looting and strafing was pretty indiscriminate. At least according to the first-hand accounts I have heard (albeit one-sided).
My mother's family was from Cyprus (from a village in the Northern half). My relations who fled from the invasion were strafed on the road in civilian cars. The looting was extreme as the Turks expected to be ejected after a few weeks. The island was, in theory protected by a three-way agreement that Greece, Turkey and the UK would protect its independence. The Turks probably assumed that the British would roll out of their bases and tell them to go home. That never happened.
My uncle was head of the customs division in the area, so knew the British Army very well. He asked a British Officer to go to his house a few days after the invasion to close the doors (they left in the clothes they stood in). He knew any valuable contents would have been looted but he assumed he'd be able to return once the Turks left. He just wanted the house to be secured in the meantime. The British Army officer called him after he'd visited and apologised. He couldn't do it. The house didn't have doors or windows any more. The house no longer had anything in it. It didn't even have sanitary ware - baths, loos, sinks were all gone. It was a bare shell.
Allegedly, the troop ships that deposited the army returned to Turkey with anything that wasn't nailed down.
However, Famagusta was a disaster long before the Turks turned up and one that was all of the Cypriots' making. Arguably the best beach on the island, the land owners threw up taller and taller hotels to milk the tourist trade. A lack of planning controls and the corruption/nepotism that was rife ensured that there was no thought that went into the developments. As a result, it was an ugly mess and the sun would go behind the hotels and throw the beach into shade in the early afternoon.
I was stationed in Cyprus in the 1990's but you get to know those who were there in 1974, there was nothing the British could do about the Turks invading Cyprus, they could only stop them from entering the Sovereign Base Area's (in reality they only ever made it to the ESBA and were told to go back the other way which they did). The Married quarters that were in Farmagusta, none of the families could get back there after the invasion as it was then annexed, there are still a few towns/villages on the edge of the ESBA that are no man's land and abandoned since 1974. My mother's family was from Cyprus (from a village in the Northern half). My relations who fled from the invasion were strafed on the road in civilian cars. The looting was extreme as the Turks expected to be ejected after a few weeks. The island was, in theory protected by a three-way agreement that Greece, Turkey and the UK would protect its independence. The Turks probably assumed that the British would roll out of their bases and tell them to go home. That never happened.
My uncle was head of the customs division in the area, so knew the British Army very well. He asked a British Officer to go to his house a few days after the invasion to close the doors (they left in the clothes they stood in). He knew any valuable contents would have been looted but he assumed he'd be able to return once the Turks left. He just wanted the house to be secured in the meantime. The British Army officer called him after he'd visited and apologised. He couldn't do it. The house didn't have doors or windows any more. The house no longer had anything in it. It didn't even have sanitary ware - baths, loos, sinks were all gone. It was a bare shell.
Allegedly, the troop ships that deposited the army returned to Turkey with anything that wasn't nailed down.
However, Famagusta was a disaster long before the Turks turned up and one that was all of the Cypriots' making. Arguably the best beach on the island, the land owners threw up taller and taller hotels to milk the tourist trade. A lack of planning controls and the corruption/nepotism that was rife ensured that there was no thought that went into the developments. As a result, it was an ugly mess and the sun would go behind the hotels and throw the beach into shade in the early afternoon.
The British did take in refugee's and provided them with temporary (note tents etc) accommodation, food and water.
LotusOmega375D said:
I enjoyed my first holiday in Cyprus last month and took the day trip to Famagusta in Turkish-controlled Northern Cyprus. The invasion may have been 44 years ago, but the sight of the derelict 7km stretch of 350 "ghost town" hotels still shocks.
Whilst I was there, I wondered what aircraft the Turkish Air Force used for the bombing and frankly, why they needed to bomb a holiday resort, completely strip it and then leave it abandoned seemingly forever. I don't think the Cypriots had any Air Force of their own to defend themselves. Was there ever a film or documentary made about the events?
Here's some piccies of the seafront.
Bomb damaged hotel with collapsed lift shaft.
Sundry looted seafront hotels.
Its only one district that's abandoned, the rest of the town is occupied, Duzce is the one I was thinking of.Whilst I was there, I wondered what aircraft the Turkish Air Force used for the bombing and frankly, why they needed to bomb a holiday resort, completely strip it and then leave it abandoned seemingly forever. I don't think the Cypriots had any Air Force of their own to defend themselves. Was there ever a film or documentary made about the events?
Here's some piccies of the seafront.
Bomb damaged hotel with collapsed lift shaft.
Sundry looted seafront hotels.
Edited by tonyb1968 on Sunday 30th September 11:29
tonyb1968 said:
AstonZagato said:
The looting and strafing was pretty indiscriminate. At least according to the first-hand accounts I have heard (albeit one-sided).
My mother's family was from Cyprus (from a village in the Northern half). My relations who fled from the invasion were strafed on the road in civilian cars. The looting was extreme as the Turks expected to be ejected after a few weeks. The island was, in theory protected by a three-way agreement that Greece, Turkey and the UK would protect its independence. The Turks probably assumed that the British would roll out of their bases and tell them to go home. That never happened.
My uncle was head of the customs division in the area, so knew the British Army very well. He asked a British Officer to go to his house a few days after the invasion to close the doors (they left in the clothes they stood in). He knew any valuable contents would have been looted but he assumed he'd be able to return once the Turks left. He just wanted the house to be secured in the meantime. The British Army officer called him after he'd visited and apologised. He couldn't do it. The house didn't have doors or windows any more. The house no longer had anything in it. It didn't even have sanitary ware - baths, loos, sinks were all gone. It was a bare shell.
Allegedly, the troop ships that deposited the army returned to Turkey with anything that wasn't nailed down.
However, Famagusta was a disaster long before the Turks turned up and one that was all of the Cypriots' making. Arguably the best beach on the island, the land owners threw up taller and taller hotels to milk the tourist trade. A lack of planning controls and the corruption/nepotism that was rife ensured that there was no thought that went into the developments. As a result, it was an ugly mess and the sun would go behind the hotels and throw the beach into shade in the early afternoon.
I was stationed in Cyprus in the 1990's but you get to know those who were there in 1974, there was nothing the British could do about the Turks invading Cyprus, they could only stop them from entering the Sovereign Base Area's (in reality they only ever made it to the ESBA and were told to go back the other way which they did). The Married quarters that were in Farmagusta, none of the families could get back there after the invasion as it was then annexed, there are still a few towns/villages on the edge of the ESBA that are no man's land and abandoned since 1974. My mother's family was from Cyprus (from a village in the Northern half). My relations who fled from the invasion were strafed on the road in civilian cars. The looting was extreme as the Turks expected to be ejected after a few weeks. The island was, in theory protected by a three-way agreement that Greece, Turkey and the UK would protect its independence. The Turks probably assumed that the British would roll out of their bases and tell them to go home. That never happened.
My uncle was head of the customs division in the area, so knew the British Army very well. He asked a British Officer to go to his house a few days after the invasion to close the doors (they left in the clothes they stood in). He knew any valuable contents would have been looted but he assumed he'd be able to return once the Turks left. He just wanted the house to be secured in the meantime. The British Army officer called him after he'd visited and apologised. He couldn't do it. The house didn't have doors or windows any more. The house no longer had anything in it. It didn't even have sanitary ware - baths, loos, sinks were all gone. It was a bare shell.
Allegedly, the troop ships that deposited the army returned to Turkey with anything that wasn't nailed down.
However, Famagusta was a disaster long before the Turks turned up and one that was all of the Cypriots' making. Arguably the best beach on the island, the land owners threw up taller and taller hotels to milk the tourist trade. A lack of planning controls and the corruption/nepotism that was rife ensured that there was no thought that went into the developments. As a result, it was an ugly mess and the sun would go behind the hotels and throw the beach into shade in the early afternoon.
The British did take in refugee's and provided them with temporary (note tents etc) accommodation, food and water.
The reality was a big fat nothing from the U.K. government.
AstonZagato said:
tonyb1968 said:
AstonZagato said:
The looting and strafing was pretty indiscriminate. At least according to the first-hand accounts I have heard (albeit one-sided).
My mother's family was from Cyprus (from a village in the Northern half). My relations who fled from the invasion were strafed on the road in civilian cars. The looting was extreme as the Turks expected to be ejected after a few weeks. The island was, in theory protected by a three-way agreement that Greece, Turkey and the UK would protect its independence. The Turks probably assumed that the British would roll out of their bases and tell them to go home. That never happened.
My uncle was head of the customs division in the area, so knew the British Army very well. He asked a British Officer to go to his house a few days after the invasion to close the doors (they left in the clothes they stood in). He knew any valuable contents would have been looted but he assumed he'd be able to return once the Turks left. He just wanted the house to be secured in the meantime. The British Army officer called him after he'd visited and apologised. He couldn't do it. The house didn't have doors or windows any more. The house no longer had anything in it. It didn't even have sanitary ware - baths, loos, sinks were all gone. It was a bare shell.
Allegedly, the troop ships that deposited the army returned to Turkey with anything that wasn't nailed down.
However, Famagusta was a disaster long before the Turks turned up and one that was all of the Cypriots' making. Arguably the best beach on the island, the land owners threw up taller and taller hotels to milk the tourist trade. A lack of planning controls and the corruption/nepotism that was rife ensured that there was no thought that went into the developments. As a result, it was an ugly mess and the sun would go behind the hotels and throw the beach into shade in the early afternoon.
I was stationed in Cyprus in the 1990's but you get to know those who were there in 1974, there was nothing the British could do about the Turks invading Cyprus, they could only stop them from entering the Sovereign Base Area's (in reality they only ever made it to the ESBA and were told to go back the other way which they did). The Married quarters that were in Farmagusta, none of the families could get back there after the invasion as it was then annexed, there are still a few towns/villages on the edge of the ESBA that are no man's land and abandoned since 1974. My mother's family was from Cyprus (from a village in the Northern half). My relations who fled from the invasion were strafed on the road in civilian cars. The looting was extreme as the Turks expected to be ejected after a few weeks. The island was, in theory protected by a three-way agreement that Greece, Turkey and the UK would protect its independence. The Turks probably assumed that the British would roll out of their bases and tell them to go home. That never happened.
My uncle was head of the customs division in the area, so knew the British Army very well. He asked a British Officer to go to his house a few days after the invasion to close the doors (they left in the clothes they stood in). He knew any valuable contents would have been looted but he assumed he'd be able to return once the Turks left. He just wanted the house to be secured in the meantime. The British Army officer called him after he'd visited and apologised. He couldn't do it. The house didn't have doors or windows any more. The house no longer had anything in it. It didn't even have sanitary ware - baths, loos, sinks were all gone. It was a bare shell.
Allegedly, the troop ships that deposited the army returned to Turkey with anything that wasn't nailed down.
However, Famagusta was a disaster long before the Turks turned up and one that was all of the Cypriots' making. Arguably the best beach on the island, the land owners threw up taller and taller hotels to milk the tourist trade. A lack of planning controls and the corruption/nepotism that was rife ensured that there was no thought that went into the developments. As a result, it was an ugly mess and the sun would go behind the hotels and throw the beach into shade in the early afternoon.
The British did take in refugee's and provided them with temporary (note tents etc) accommodation, food and water.
The reality was a big fat nothing from the U.K. government.
Hopefully one day, both sides can live peacefully in a unified Cyprus once again, its a long and slow process but fingers crossed as Cyprus is a nice place
tonyb1968 said:
AstonZagato said:
tonyb1968 said:
AstonZagato said:
The looting and strafing was pretty indiscriminate. At least according to the first-hand accounts I have heard (albeit one-sided).
My mother's family was from Cyprus (from a village in the Northern half). My relations who fled from the invasion were strafed on the road in civilian cars. The looting was extreme as the Turks expected to be ejected after a few weeks. The island was, in theory protected by a three-way agreement that Greece, Turkey and the UK would protect its independence. The Turks probably assumed that the British would roll out of their bases and tell them to go home. That never happened.
My uncle was head of the customs division in the area, so knew the British Army very well. He asked a British Officer to go to his house a few days after the invasion to close the doors (they left in the clothes they stood in). He knew any valuable contents would have been looted but he assumed he'd be able to return once the Turks left. He just wanted the house to be secured in the meantime. The British Army officer called him after he'd visited and apologised. He couldn't do it. The house didn't have doors or windows any more. The house no longer had anything in it. It didn't even have sanitary ware - baths, loos, sinks were all gone. It was a bare shell.
Allegedly, the troop ships that deposited the army returned to Turkey with anything that wasn't nailed down.
However, Famagusta was a disaster long before the Turks turned up and one that was all of the Cypriots' making. Arguably the best beach on the island, the land owners threw up taller and taller hotels to milk the tourist trade. A lack of planning controls and the corruption/nepotism that was rife ensured that there was no thought that went into the developments. As a result, it was an ugly mess and the sun would go behind the hotels and throw the beach into shade in the early afternoon.
I was stationed in Cyprus in the 1990's but you get to know those who were there in 1974, there was nothing the British could do about the Turks invading Cyprus, they could only stop them from entering the Sovereign Base Area's (in reality they only ever made it to the ESBA and were told to go back the other way which they did). The Married quarters that were in Farmagusta, none of the families could get back there after the invasion as it was then annexed, there are still a few towns/villages on the edge of the ESBA that are no man's land and abandoned since 1974. My mother's family was from Cyprus (from a village in the Northern half). My relations who fled from the invasion were strafed on the road in civilian cars. The looting was extreme as the Turks expected to be ejected after a few weeks. The island was, in theory protected by a three-way agreement that Greece, Turkey and the UK would protect its independence. The Turks probably assumed that the British would roll out of their bases and tell them to go home. That never happened.
My uncle was head of the customs division in the area, so knew the British Army very well. He asked a British Officer to go to his house a few days after the invasion to close the doors (they left in the clothes they stood in). He knew any valuable contents would have been looted but he assumed he'd be able to return once the Turks left. He just wanted the house to be secured in the meantime. The British Army officer called him after he'd visited and apologised. He couldn't do it. The house didn't have doors or windows any more. The house no longer had anything in it. It didn't even have sanitary ware - baths, loos, sinks were all gone. It was a bare shell.
Allegedly, the troop ships that deposited the army returned to Turkey with anything that wasn't nailed down.
However, Famagusta was a disaster long before the Turks turned up and one that was all of the Cypriots' making. Arguably the best beach on the island, the land owners threw up taller and taller hotels to milk the tourist trade. A lack of planning controls and the corruption/nepotism that was rife ensured that there was no thought that went into the developments. As a result, it was an ugly mess and the sun would go behind the hotels and throw the beach into shade in the early afternoon.
The British did take in refugee's and provided them with temporary (note tents etc) accommodation, food and water.
The reality was a big fat nothing from the U.K. government.
Hopefully one day, both sides can live peacefully in a unified Cyprus once again, its a long and slow process but fingers crossed as Cyprus is a nice place
AstonZagato said:
However, Famagusta was a disaster long before the Turks turned up and one that was all of the Cypriots' making. Arguably the best beach on the island, the land owners threw up taller and taller hotels to milk the tourist trade. A lack of planning controls and the corruption/nepotism that was rife ensured that there was no thought that went into the developments. As a result, it was an ugly mess and the sun would go behind the hotels and throw the beach into shade in the early afternoon.
/\ This - I was there just before the invasion and was amazed by the close proximity of these hotelsto each other and to the beach.
Now - the Turks want to give Famagusta back to the Greeks, because they know that it would cause an enormous financial headache to the Greeks as they would feel obliged to re-build the area.
Having lived in the TRNC (Turkish side) for the best part of a year in the early 1990s I have/had a very one sided view of the events in 1974.
Scary stuff, really scary stuff. 18 years after the war. The house I stayed in was a late 1960s new build. Apparently built as a "love nest" for a British politician and his bit in the side, it had been ransacked during the invasion and was a concrete shell. There was a similar property a few miles away, still left in its vandalised state. Snooping around, I ended up in a semi basement area (Like the house I was in this place was split level built into a hillside.). I wondered why the walls in this basement room had small holes in them at around head height. Then I realised there had probably been executions there. In the dust and debris on the floor I found rifle bullet cases.
In the grounds of our house, years of history was side by side. Clearing vegetation it was common to find bronze age broken axe heads or arrowheads lying next to a discarded shell case.
I recently saw a programme about the UN "Elders" including Ex-Presidrnt Jimmy Carter and Desmond Tutu working with young Greeks and Turks looking for reconciliation. I learnt of the efforts being made to locate mass graves and identify the dead. It never occurred to me that there could well have been graves on the property I stayed in.
When I was there the Dome Hotel in Kyrenia seemed stuck in a 1974 limbo. Adverts on the walls showed glamorous 1970s ladies advertising no-longer made perfumes and the like. Holiday posters of BAC 1-11s encouraged you to fly by Court Line or whoever.
I think things have moved on since 1992. I recently tried to find the house I lived in on Google Earth. The village (Catalkoy) seems to be over run with villas hotels and pools. I guess the house was demolished. I wonder if the incomers who live there today pause to think why they find shell cases in their gardens alongside broken bronze age tools?
Scary stuff, really scary stuff. 18 years after the war. The house I stayed in was a late 1960s new build. Apparently built as a "love nest" for a British politician and his bit in the side, it had been ransacked during the invasion and was a concrete shell. There was a similar property a few miles away, still left in its vandalised state. Snooping around, I ended up in a semi basement area (Like the house I was in this place was split level built into a hillside.). I wondered why the walls in this basement room had small holes in them at around head height. Then I realised there had probably been executions there. In the dust and debris on the floor I found rifle bullet cases.
In the grounds of our house, years of history was side by side. Clearing vegetation it was common to find bronze age broken axe heads or arrowheads lying next to a discarded shell case.
I recently saw a programme about the UN "Elders" including Ex-Presidrnt Jimmy Carter and Desmond Tutu working with young Greeks and Turks looking for reconciliation. I learnt of the efforts being made to locate mass graves and identify the dead. It never occurred to me that there could well have been graves on the property I stayed in.
When I was there the Dome Hotel in Kyrenia seemed stuck in a 1974 limbo. Adverts on the walls showed glamorous 1970s ladies advertising no-longer made perfumes and the like. Holiday posters of BAC 1-11s encouraged you to fly by Court Line or whoever.
I think things have moved on since 1992. I recently tried to find the house I lived in on Google Earth. The village (Catalkoy) seems to be over run with villas hotels and pools. I guess the house was demolished. I wonder if the incomers who live there today pause to think why they find shell cases in their gardens alongside broken bronze age tools?
Edited by Wildcat45 on Tuesday 2nd October 22:40
The guide who took us there from the South was a lovely guy and very articulate, but you got the impression that he was only telling one side of the story and that the conflict was entirely Turkey's fault and that's clearly not the full story. I guess that is how they've been edcuated. That's why I was wondering if there was any documentary or decent film about the invasion. A page on Wikipedia only goes so far! Outside of Cyprus, it's a barely remembered conflict of recent European history.
One last footnote. One day I was in a bar in the South and needed the loo. The waiter pointed to a corridor which led through to an old hotel. On the wall was a large mural map of Cyprus. The border with the North was marked with a barbed wire fence and the words "Temporarily inaccessible to Christians".
One last footnote. One day I was in a bar in the South and needed the loo. The waiter pointed to a corridor which led through to an old hotel. On the wall was a large mural map of Cyprus. The border with the North was marked with a barbed wire fence and the words "Temporarily inaccessible to Christians".
LotusOmega375D said:
I enjoyed my first holiday in Cyprus last month and took the day trip to Famagusta in Turkish-controlled Northern Cyprus. The invasion may have been 44 years ago, but the sight of the derelict 7km stretch of 350 "ghost town" hotels still shocks.
Whilst I was there, I wondered what aircraft the Turkish Air Force used for the bombing and frankly, why they needed to bomb a holiday resort, completely strip it and then leave it abandoned seemingly forever. I don't think the Cypriots had any Air Force of their own to defend themselves. Was there ever a film or documentary made about the events?
Here's some piccies of the seafront.
Bomb damaged hotel with collapsed lift shaft.
Is there an agenda?Whilst I was there, I wondered what aircraft the Turkish Air Force used for the bombing and frankly, why they needed to bomb a holiday resort, completely strip it and then leave it abandoned seemingly forever. I don't think the Cypriots had any Air Force of their own to defend themselves. Was there ever a film or documentary made about the events?
Here's some piccies of the seafront.
Bomb damaged hotel with collapsed lift shaft.
IIRC a Greek invasion was looking likely, so the Turks got in first.
Is that a reasonable summary?
AstonZagato said:
The British government failed in its treaty obligations to protect Cyprus. However, the 'real politik' was that the British government had no desire to waste British lives or money on a dispute between Greek influenced Cypriots and Turkey - especially as it was all of the Greeks' making. The problem was stupidly avoidable but the Greeks and the Greek Cypriots were determined to shoot themselves in the foot with a backstop of British intervention and then were surprised when it all went Pete Tong. The Greek Cypriots were by far the losers - 80% of the population before the invasion - were left in control of 60% of the island. Turkish Cypriots were indeed treated as second class citizens. It is arguable that some of the responsibility for this lies with the British who used a 'divide and rule' tactic to control the island when it was part of the British empire. But the Greek/Turkish enmity on their respective mainlands and the desire of both communities to be educated separately was also a huge contributory factor.
was Britain in any position, in 1974, to single handedly go to war with turkey? Late gen x here so shamefull knowledge of relevant history but weren't we still having an oil crisis and 3 day week? Although a state of war could have been opportune and used to repress the miners strike etc.Britain was in the process of retracting from its old "Empire" commitments at that time. Although it retained the air base on the island, it largely kept out of the "action", its main contribution being the evacuation of Archbishop Makarios (the leader of the Greek Cypriots) by the RAF.
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