Famagusta is a city on the east coast of Cyprus. It is located east of Nicosia and possesses the deepest harbour of the island. During the Middle Ages, Famagusta was the island's most important port city and a gateway to trade with the ports of the Levant, from where the Silk Road merchants carried their goods to Western Europe. The old walled city and parts of the modern city are currently controlled by the de facto Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus as part of its Gazimağusa District, of which it is the capital, but internationally recognised as a part of the Republic of Cyprus.
