In October 1923, 1400 Turkish citizens, including our family, left their homeland in Greece andcame to Ayvalık, Turkey. In 1998, when we decided to share this story with you, it was not verydifficult to name it. Κάπη (Kapi to the Greeks and Kapya to us), a village on Lesvos Island(commonly known as Mytilene in Turkey), where our family lived before the exchange, was wherethis story began, and Cunda Island was where it arrived. Kapya Cunda Hotel explained our story,which started in the village of Κάπη on Lesvos Island and reached Cunda Island in the Republic ofTurkey.
The "Door Knocker" was a reminder to outsiders that the hotel was open in summer and winterand that they also had a house in the centre of Cunda... As the children of a family who left theirhome and moved to the opposite shore of the sea, we have made it our profession to share ourhome with everyone who comes from outside. Kapya Cunda Hotel has been with you since 1998so that no one who comes to Cunda Island, to our hotel, will feel like a stranger...
