World Famous Ghost Towns-Part 2

Gunkanjima, Japan

Gunkanjima is one island among 505 uninhabited islands in the Nagasaki Prefecture of Japan approximately 15 kilometers from Nagasaki itself. This island is known as Battleship Island and the Forbidden Island.

It began in 1890 when a company called Mitsubishi bought the island and began a project to retrieve coal from the bottom of the sea. This of course, attracted much attention, and in 1916 they were forced to build Japan's first large concrete building on the island. The building that was constructed was a block of apartments that would accommodate thousands of workers as well as help protect them from the hurricanes.

By the year 1959, the population of this island had grown considerably and boasted a density of 835 people per hectare for the whole island and 1,391 per hectare for the residential area of the island. This is one of the highest population densities ever recorded worldwide.

Coal mines in Japan began shutting down in the 1960's due to the fact that petroleum was quickly replacing coal. Finally, in 1974, Mitsubishi officially announced the closing of the mine on Gunkanjima island. Today, travel to and from the island is strictly prohibited.

Kadykchan, Russia

When the Soviet Union collapsed, Kadykchan was one of many small Russian cities that fell into ruin. Residents did not have any access to services such as running water, schools and medical care. Because of this, they were forced to move from their home city. Over a period of two weeks, the state moved the residents to other towns and provided them with new housing opportunities.

At one point, this town had a total of 12,000 people that lived there; it is now desolate. Residents were in such a hurry to leave that many of them decided to leave their personal belongings behind in their homes. If you ever get a chance to visit this ghost town, you will see aging books, toys, clothing and other objects throughout the empty city.

Kowloon Walled City, China

The Kowloon Walled City used to be located just outside of Hong Kong, China during British rule. This city used to be a watch post to protect the area from pirates and it was occupied by Japan during World War II. It was taken over by squatters after Japan surrendered. Britain and China both agreed that neither of them wished to take responsibility for it, so it became its own lawless city.

For decades, the city's population flourished; in fact, residents built labyrinthine corridors above the street level due to it being clogged with trash. The buildings grew so tall that sunlight could not reach the bottom levels and the entire city had to be illuminated with the use of fluorescent lights.

 It was the perfect breeding ground for the existence of brothels, casinos, opium dens, cocaine parlors, food courts serving dog meat and secret factories. All of these places were unmolested by authorities as there were none.

Finally, in 1993, China and Britain both agreed that the city needed to be demolished and torn down. Both countries were particularly wary of the unsanitary, anarchic city and its out-of-control population.

Famagusta, Cyprus

Varosha is a settlement in the unrecognized Republic of Northern Cyprus. Before the Turks invaded Cyprus in 1974, this town was the modern tourist area of the city of Famagusta. For the last three decades, it has been left untouched as a ghost town. To cater to the increasing number of tourists that visited the city in the 1970's, several new high-rise buildings and hotels were constructed.

Upon securing the area during the war, the Turkish Army fenced it off and refused admittance to anyone except Turkish military and United Nations personnel. The Annan Plan had provided for the return of Varosha to Greek Cypriot control; this never happened as the Greek voters rejected the plan. For 34 years, no repairs have been carried out and all of the buildings are slowly falling apart.

The Turkish Cypriot administration has plans to reopen the Varosha to tourism by the year 2010.

Agdam, Azerbaijan

In the Middle East, the eerie city of Agdam, Azerbaijan was once a thriving city that was home to 150,000 people. It was lost in 1993 during the Nagorno Karabakh war. The city never saw any combat on its land but it did fall victim to vandalism while it was occupied by Armenian people. Today, the buildings are gutted and empty, with only the graffiti-covered area of worship remaining intact. Residents of Agdam have moved to other areas of Azerbaijan, as well as into Iran.