In video games with apocalyptic atmosphere, we can encounter a street scene like the one that welcomes the visitor in Pharosia, Northern Cyprus – or not, except on some streets. The city has been uninhabited since August 1974: when the island was politically divided fifty years ago, the city originally inhabited by Greeks was taken under the control of Turkish forces, and residents fled before fighting broke out in the city's streets.
Those who had hoped they would be able to return after a few weeks were bitterly disappointed: the city remains a no-go zone to this day, except for a narrow strip of beach that opened to disaster tourists in 2020.
The Green Line is the ceasefire line that divides the Republic of Cyprus, to the south of which are the territories controlled by the Republic of Cyprus, and to the north of it the puppet state of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is recognized only by Turkey. For this reason, several neighborhoods on the island have become uninhabited, and cars from the 1970s have been abandoned and have been waiting for their fate ever since (Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Getty Images)
It was then that the world encountered what remained of Warsaw's once thriving economy. As no artillery attack had taken place at that time, the buildings at first lay almost untouched waiting for their owners and inhabitants, and the produce was lined up in regular order behind the painted bars of the store buildings, to which buyers never came again.
A Toyota dealer also operates in the part of town that became available in 2020 – the brand appeared in Europe only ten years earlier, in 1963, so it was considered relatively rare. However, Cyprus and the Warsaw within it were a hugely popular destination, and a favorite resort for many celebrities, so it was no surprise that Toyota set foot here as well.
This Toyota arrived on the island as a new car, but was not sold because it is located in the buffer zone, a largely inaccessible, mined area that has been restricted to UN forces since 1974. (Photo: Athanasios Geombasis/Getty Images)
According to footage taken in 2020, at the moment of the disaster, the latest models were lined up in the showroom and garage. In addition to the sedans and coupes of the second generation (E20) of the Corolla, as well as the second version (X10) of the Mark II station wagon, there was also a particularly sporty Mark II GSS Hardtop Coupé (X22) for connoisseurs. . At that point, the salon owner was probably impatiently waiting to finally be able to order through the Greek importer the third generation Corolla, which had just entered production in Japan in those days, a new Crown with clean lines. .
There was no chance to escape from the cars, so people ran for their lives (Photo: Athanasios Geombasis/Getty Images).
Four years ago, many still believed that the partial opening of Warsaw could start the consolidation process Cyprus On his island. Car enthusiasts also had their own selfish reason for this: the city's temporarily frozen Toyota car dealership was a unique worldwide phenomenon, and would serve as an ideal place of pilgrimage for visitors who love the past. However, there was no relief, and this sealed the fate of the showroom.
According to the latest reports, today only bare walls remain, and cars were moved by someone at some point – or carted away by bolt by visitors collecting souvenirs. Thus, today only a few amateur photographs preserve the memory of this shameful political phenomenon, but from the point of view of industrial history, this phenomenon is much more sublime.
