Tourexpi: How did you discover the region of the Ida Mountains?
  
HB: First, through tours and excursions. Of course I already knew about the history of the area and knew about places like Troy, Assos, and the mythology of the region, tied to the Ida Mountains. This area is also known for their pure and oxygen-rich air and for the natural and excellent olive oil. Then I was there and becom fascinated bye the clean sea and the variety of fishes, which are caught. More than 57 of thousands of different plants and wildflowers are endemic. In addition, there are also very nice hot springs. The place where the first beauty contest in history have taken place between the goddesses Aphrodite, Athena and Hera, is only 4 km from our location Küçükkuyu away. This region fascinated me by all these reasons, and so I wanted to gain a foothold. 
  
Tourexpi:Can you describe us your hotel? 
  
HB: Yes. The Hera Butik hotel is situated directly at the port of Küçükkuyu. We have 12 rooms furnished with antique marble. On the ground floor, we have a restaurant for 80 persons, in summer you can sit outside, enjoy food or drink cocktails. The rooms are equipped with air conditioning and televisions. Our guests come mainly from abroad, many from Berlin. 
  
Tourexpi:What do you offer your guests in addition besides accommodation in the hotel? 
  
HB: We are in a region in which it is rather peaceful and quite. Besides the thermal baths in the vicinity it is primarily about the nature; we offer trips and hikes. One can relax well by reading, meditation; in short, it is a real good rest. We offer excursions to the sights in the surrounding area, with ancient sites, waterfalls and the mountains. If we have large groups of guests, we can offer trips up to Çanakkale in cooperation with local agencies. 
  
Tourexpi:You are also a musician, to be exact; a drummer. Do you offer live music performances in the Hotel? 
  
HB: Of course, there is live music in the lounge of our hotel at evening hours, piano, guitar and percussion. In summer, we have a good program, in winter we make it rare. I have many friends among musicians from Istanbul who often come to visit us, with which we will also make jam sessions. 
  
Tourexpi:How would you describe the atmosphere of your hotel? 
  
HB: It feels like someones home. That is also the main advantage of a boutique hotel, so we also use the slogan: "Your home at the Ida Mountains." We personally take care of our guests; we also try not to tie our guests to the hotel in any way by things as fullboarding. There is so much in the neighbourhood to be discovered that we are delighted if our guests are often outside the hotel, eat out, or explore the area. Our aim is that the guests really feel at home and relax which will make them willingly come back. There are beautiful old villages with restored houses in the area, Adatepe or Yesilyurt, with beautiful old stone houses. Nature is completely undisturbed, which our guests should really enjoy. 
  
Tourexpi:Is your hotel open for the whole year round? 
  
HB: We are also open in winter. We have a very mild winter climate in Küçükkuyu. We have not such strong winds as in Assos or Canakkale. That is why it is here on average, mostly 4-5 degrees warmer than there, This makes it possible to join the scenery in winter. In winter, guests can of course also visit the spa, attempt the olive harvest, or join go fishing. 
  
Tourexpi:Since we are talking fish, what fish are in Küçükkuyu particularly recommended? 
  
HB: Oh, I do not know where to start. The most popular is probably the Cipura (sea bream), but also Levrek (bass) and Tekir and Barbunya (red mullet) are very good. Sardines are also recommended as well as squid. Most importantly, however, is that all fish are totally, the fishermen provides us just two hours after they caught them. We also offer fishing trips, so that the guests can go fishing and catch fish themselves. The cooking that we made for our guests is also free of charge. This is a benefit to the wine or rakı! 
  
Tourexpi:The Turkish Aegean is famous for their meals based on the use of olive oil, which is surely not missing on your menu? 
  
HB: Küçükkuyu is famous in Turkey for its excellent olive oil, so these dishes are also in the foreground in our kitchen. Denizbörülcesi (saltwort), Enginar (artichokes), spinach and stuffed zucchini flowers are my favourites. They will be accompanied by fish and seafood dishes. We offer 10 to 15 dishes based on olive oil, which of course change depending on the season, because we only want to offer natural products. All these of course, fits very well with our Turkish raki.

Thank you very much for this conversation

Further information:

Hera Butik Hotel

Limaniçi Küçükkuyu / Çanakkale

Tel. & Fax: +90/286/752 26 36

Email:hayribinerbay@hotmail.com

WEB: www.herabutikotel.com (momentan außer Betrieb)

Fisch- und Weinrestaurant Anfora

Siemensstr. 27

12247 Berlin-Lankwitz

Tel.: +49/30/76 68 65 64

WEB: www.restaurant-anfora.de