A post-apocalyptic world

No, these are not pictures of Detriot, they are from the Maras/Varosha district in Famagusta.

Famagusta was once the economic hub of a unified Cyprus, being the centre of the tourist trade and the key port for industry. During the Turkish invasion/liberation (depending on your allegiance) on the 15^th of August, 1974, the Turkish Army advanced towards the city. With a battle between the Greek Cypriot Army and the Turkish Army, the civilian population fled. With the Turkish Army victorious, the Turkish Cypriot residents returned, while the Greek Cypriots stayed on the south side of the island.

While most of the land occupied by the Turkish Army was returned to civilian ownership, the Maras/Varosha district of Famagusta was fenced off and restricted. The neighbourhood was mainly owned by Greek Cypriots and was a bustling tourist area, one of the international hot-spots of the time. While everyone expected the situation to be soon normalized, 35+ years after the evacuation the neighbourhood still lies desolate, abandoned behind barbed wire. Buildings have decayed, roads are being overgrown with grasses and the pavement is littered with shattered glass. Nearby residents claim to see the flickering lightbulbs, left on 30 years ago and still connected to the mains.

The 2004 Cyprus Peace Plan, negotiated by Kofi Annan, would have returned the Varosha district to Greek Cypriot rule. The plan proposed to reunify Northern Cyprus with Southern Cyprus in a Switzerland-style Federation, giving a large deal of autonomy to the Turkish and Greek Cypriots. In a referendum across Cyprus, the peace plan had overwhelming support in the north and overwhelming animosity in the south, and so fell through. The situation is slowly being repaired, but ironically enough there would be more integration if the EU just recognised the north and accepted it into the EU - with a common currency and open borders, the regions would be better integrated as formally separate EU nations, rather than the current formal unification with de facto seperation.