Dating back 2500 years in history, Famagusta port is one of the most important historical ports in the Mediterranean for the Levant history. Eastern Mediterranean University is the biggest university in North Cyprus and can be found in Famagusta.
Having a population of 40,000 people including students, Famagusta is the second largest city in the North and is believed to have been founded in the fifth century BC.
In the 7th century, Salamis, being the most important city in Cyprus and the whole of the Eastern Mediterranean, was set ablaze and destroyed by Arab raiders. The inhabitants of Salamis fled and migrated to Famagusta and therefore expanded the city. Famagusta was later transformed into one of the richest cities in Christendom in the late 13th century, when a second human flood took place and Christian refugees inhabited the city after the failure of Acre in Palestine during the Crusaders. Genoesen seized the city in 1372 and were followed in 1489 by the Venetians. It later fell to the Turks in 1571 after a one year siege.
Damaged by severe wars and earthquakes, the city, once known as the ‘city of 365 churches’ is now only partially inhabited and still holds beautiful examples of gothic and medieval architecture.
Archeological sites worth seeing are Salamis ruins, Necropolis (King’s Tombs) and Engomi due to their unique distinctive structures. There are many well preserved visiting points of the Venetian city walls as well as churches and other important buildings related with Christian cultural heritage.
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