Concerns Over Peloton’s Halloween Ride
Endy Zemenides, the executive director of the Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC), expressed his disapproval on Thursday regarding Peloton’s Halloween-themed “Varosha Ride.” He argued in a thread posted on X that the ride trivializes the reality of Varosha, a ghost city in Cyprus left desolate due to Turkey’s invasion in 1974.
The 15-minute ride, which features scenic visuals, was introduced as part of Peloton’s Halloween collection on Wednesday. Interestingly, it does not come with an instructor. Participants taking part in these classes are eligible for a badge challenge that runs until Saturday.
Promoting the event, Peloton stated, “Too good to ghost.” Over the Halloween period, the company launched 21 themed classes, including six scenic rides and runs.
Zemenides, who leads the advocacy group based in Chicago, pointed out that Famagusta has remained deserted since the Turkish troops invaded almost fifty years ago. He stated, “Varosha is not a haunted amusement park.”
He further emphasized that the abandoned structures of homes and hotels are “not Halloween props.” According to Zemenides, real families once called these places home, but they fled and have yet to be allowed to return.
The Varosha site also features in a longer 30-minute Halloween ride released the same day, alongside various other locations like Bran Castle in Romania and a cemetery in Savannah, among others.
“It wasn’t Disney or Six Flags that made Varosha a ghost town,” he noted, attributing its abandonment to the actions of the Turkish army.
Zemenides suggested that Peloton could improve their approach by providing context in the ride, similar to how they begin other rides with introductory notes. He mentioned potential alternatives for scenic rides, such as the Akamas Peninsula or the Paphos coast.
Notably, there are two Security Council resolutions that address Varosha directly: Resolution 550 from 1984 and Resolution 789 from 1992. Both resolutions have deemed attempts to settle the area with anyone other than its original inhabitants as “inadmissible.” In 2021, there was a call for reversing actions taken in the area since October 2020.
Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides labeled Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as the “great obstacle” to resolving the situation, stating that Erdogan insists on conditions outside the framework provided by the U.N.
Currently, Varosha is a critical topic in ongoing negotiations. Christodoulides has proposed placing the fenced-off area under U.N. administration and reopening Famagusta port under EU control. However, this proposal has been dismissed as unbalanced by the Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman.
Additionally, U.S. Representative from New York mentioned Cyprus in July while opposing the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, citing Erdogan’s continued illegal occupation of part of Cyprus.
