If you left a blue Dodge Coronet behind in the 1974 Cyprus War, now is your last chance to get it
A British soldier walks past abandoned vehicles at the British military base in Episkopi near the southern coastal city of Limassol in the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, on Wednesday, May 25, 2016. The cars were abandoned by Turkish Cypriot owners inside a British military base amid the confusion of a war 42 years ago that cleaved Cyprus along ethnic lines. Now base authorities are hoping to reawaken the interest of owners to reclaim these vehicles before their disposal starts next year. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
When Turkish Cypriots in the southern coastal city of Limassol left area during the highly volatile 1974 war that split the Mediterranean island of Cyprus along ethnic lines, they left behind more than 400 cars, trucks and vans that have been quietly rusting away at the British military base in Episkopi for the past 42 years.
From the Washington Post:
The vehicles have sat since inside this wind-swept, fenced-off field for safe-keeping. But the relentless Mediterranean sun and humidity, coupled with a huge brushfire that swept through the field 15 years ago, have turned more than half of them into little more than rusting hulks.
Now, base authorities are hoping to reawaken the interest of owners — either in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot northern part of the island or abroad — to reclaim the vehicles before their disposal starts next year.
“We have to make the effort to give them back before we start disposing of them, it’s the proper thing to do,” said Ian Brayshaw, a British Bases official in charge of the project.
The overwhelming majority of the vehicles are of little value other than scrap metal. But there are a few gems that could be worth some money, including the aluminum-framed Land Rover Mark 1 and a decrepit Volkswagen Beetle that is said to be worth as much as 2,000 euros ($2,230) despite its condition, Brayshaw said.