Hotels in Bozcaada | Casa Mini Hotel

OUR ISLAND & CASA MINI

When we first bought our house in Sulubahce Bozcaada in 1971, it had no electricity, nor tap water yet. There was a well, though, which we needed to use a hand pump to draw the water up from. One couldn’t even drink from its hard water. Still, the chats we had by the well were gold. There was a unique connection between the neighbors.

Then, our refrigerator would work with bottled gas, instead of electricity.

It had taken me quite a bit of time to get how the heating energy could be utilized for cooling. And since the refrigerator had a very tiny space in it, we would store some of our groceries hanging down in the well. If you had asked me, it was worth it. The bread was crusty, eggs were collected daily, and the fish were freshly caught.

We didn’t own a TV either, at that time. Even when the military operation in Cyprus took place in 1974, we had only realized it two days later; when the officers told us to leave the island.

But the stars were there. All the kids knew the names of the constellations by heart. We could find our way by simply looking at the stars, the sun, and the moon. We would spend all the summer under the cool island breeze, without feeling any need for artificial air-conditioning.

There wasn’t much of a luxury, for sure. Our luxury was the endless beaches, the clear water, and a perfect, bright sky; it was watching the sunset, having lovely times with our neighbors under the moonlight, and always waiting for a shooting star, —sometimes even till the sunrise. These were what we had.

And we wish to offer you the same luxury and joy at CASA MINI…