Toyota dealer abandoned 40 years ago in Cyprus

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Came across some pics online of a Toyota dealership in the abandoned no-man's land of Varosha in Famagusta, Cyprus.

In 1974 the Turkish military invaded and took over this part of Cyprus. The Varosha area was an affluent tourist destination that was evacuated basically overnight and never resettled. Currently Turkey occupies the land and has it fenced off. They are essentially holding it as a bargaining chip against Greece, despite the fact the area is badly deteriorating from neglect. In addition to this dealer, there are abandoned luxury hotels, shops, etc. Things are as they were when the place was vacated in the course of hours in 1974.

vorosha-car6-6416731415052511879.jpg


varosha-car3-4899682912553781031.jpg


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http://www.motor-talk.de/bilder/autos-di...i204295277.html

The crushed in roofs, open hoods, and broken windows on some of the cars mean vandals have gotten in, but they are much less disturbed/damaged than I would expect after 40 years. They look better than most of the cars found at that Chevy dealer out in the midwest.

Even the cars that aren't restorable probably have tons of irreplaceable parts in fairly well preserved condition.

Kind of surreal to look at.
 
I lived in Cyprus (Nicosia) back in 1960 and 1961. In 1974 there was a coup by the Greek Cypriots in power and they tried to get union (become part of Greece. The Turkish Cypriots would have none of it, so they asked Turkey for help. Turkey invaded ("to protect the 20% Turkish Cypriot minority") and took over the northern third of the island.

When I lived there, the 80% Greeks, 18% Turks and 2% Armenians all got along. Cyprus was a beautiful island and I loved my stay there.

Read the book "Bitter Lemons".
 
Wow I find things like this fascinating. It looks like
time stopped. I wonder what people were doing at that moment when the Turkish Army forced Greeks out of their homes.

The cars are in remarkably good condition considering they have been left alone all this time. Lots of now valuable collectors items even if they were just cheap Japanese econo cars. My dad had a 72 Corolla that looks a lot like those models posted at the beginning. Also see what appears to be a Celica too.

I vividly remember this day because I was in my 5th grade
social studies class and it was breaking news even in
Buffalo Grove, IL way back then. One of my teachers' husband was a Cypriot that lived in that area and was forced out immediately.
That women seemed to really fear that his life and the life of others were in immediate grave danger, I believe that the US
ambassador to Greece was asking for their safe passage out of the area back to Greece.
 
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Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
Wow I find things like this fascinating. It looks like
time stopped. I wonder what people were doing at that moment when the Turkish Army forced Greeks out of their homes.

The cars are in remarkably good condition considering they have been left alone all this time. Lots of now valuable collectors items even if they were just cheap Japanese econo cars. My dad had a 72 Corolla that looks a lot like those models posted at the beginning. Also see what appears to be a Celica too.

I vividly remember this day because I was in my 5th grade
social studies class and it was breaking news even in
Buffalo Grove, IL way back then. One of my teachers' husband was a Cypriot that lived in that area and was forced out immediately.
That women seemed to really fear that his life and the life of others were in immediate grave danger, I believe that the US
ambassador to Greece was asking for their safe passage out of the area back to Greece.


Yes, things like this are fascinating.

I actually came across these pictures while searching Google images for pictures of this area in general. Pictures from within Varosha are hard to find because it is still fenced off and under Turkish military control. Unlike the towns within the Chernobyl disaster area like Pripyat, there hasn't been access for urban exploration enthusiasts to get in. They risk being detained if they do.

It's so bizarre a place can go from being a busy, fully populated, affluent resort destination to a no man's land in literally hours and stay that way for four
decades.

This is the Varosha page on the Urban Ghosts blog...
http://www.urbanghostsmedia.com/2013/03/...andoned-resort/

varosha.jpg


varosha-9.jpg


varosha-11.jpg


During its heyday in the late 1960s-1974...
varosha-then.jpg
 
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Originally Posted By: eljefino
varosha-car4-1707717373463366939.jpg


Where the radio should be, along with the HVAC.


Who here knows what the knob is bottom left of the speedometer?
 
Originally Posted By: expat


Who here knows what the knob is bottom left of the speedometer?


Looks like the choke lever to me.
 
Originally Posted By: expat
Originally Posted By: eljefino
varosha-car4-1707717373463366939.jpg


Where the radio should be, along with the HVAC.


Who here knows what the knob is bottom left of the speedometer?


I'm going to guess a cable for a manual choke?
 
Originally Posted By: expat
Originally Posted By: eljefino
varosha-car4-1707717373463366939.jpg


Where the radio should be, along with the HVAC.


Who here knows what the knob is bottom left of the speedometer?


Correct. That is what that international symbol is for on the knob, it wasn't used in the US, as most companies chose to use
English labeling here.
 
Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
Originally Posted By: expat
Originally Posted By: eljefino
varosha-car4-1707717373463366939.jpg


Where the radio should be, along with the HVAC.


Who here knows what the knob is bottom left of the speedometer?


Correct. That is what that international symbol is for on the knob, it wasn't used in the US, as most companies chose to use
English labeling here.


It was however used on ATV's and snowmobiles.
 
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL



It was however used on ATV's and snowmobiles.


It was also used in Canada as well because of the French English requirements but I doubt that that symbol was ever widely used within the USA, even on imports and small engined vehicles.

Same thing about the international low brake fluid (!) parking brake (P) warning symbol. I have see that used frequently in Canada but almost never in the USA.
 
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It is Marash. Not a bargaining chip anymore because there is no bargaining. Northern part is now practically part of Turkey and the southern part is sinking along with Greece.
 
Originally Posted By: expat
Originally Posted By: eljefino
varosha-car4-1707717373463366939.jpg


Where the radio should be, along with the HVAC.


Who here knows what the knob is bottom left of the speedometer?


Ejection seat, most likely. The choke control on my 2014 Ford doesn't look remotely like that.
 
Originally Posted By: JetStar
Neat pictures, I like the blue Celica in the 2nd picture.



I always had the Hots for those first gen Celica's
 
Originally Posted By: expat
Originally Posted By: JetStar
Neat pictures, I like the blue Celica in the 2nd picture.



I always had the Hots for those first gen Celica's


One of my most amazing drives was in one of those.

A workmate in the service station I was at had a metallic blue one...it sounded cammy like a ported mazda rotary, twin 2bbl sidedrafts, and a "Yamaha" headed Toyota tin cam.

I drove it, shifting at 7,500 RPM, and he upped me for "trying to foul his plugs".

Got in the passenger seat, and he upshifted at 9,000RPM+ (I witdrew my feet to near the seat, as I didn't know what he had in the way of flywheel and clutch), and he drove it off the end of the speedo...
 
My 1986 Honda Civic had a lever just like that on the dash for the choke.

Amazing find...if anyone could get those cars out, they'd make a fortune selling them to collectors!

I'd love that red Corolla...so simple!
 
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