What do you miss about Turkey?
I have lived in three countries for a long period of time, Turkey where I was born, England where I have nationality and now Dubrovnik. All of these countries have things which I like and some things which I dislike. But talking about my homeland which is Turkey, of course I miss my family and my old school friends, I love to visit them and catch up on things over a coffee. Luckily I have a great connection from Zagreb to Istanbul and the flight only takes about 2 hours. So every three or four months I go back home for a one week trip to recharge my batteries.

What would you miss about Dubrovnik if you moved back to Turkey?
I think the friendliness, in a very short space of time I have made quiet a few good friends. The city has accepted me as a son and that’s really nice. That feeling has given me a great deal of confidence and even though I don’t really speak Croatian the people have completely accepted me. Maybe this is because of the way I am. They treat me like I was born here and the friendships and business contacts I have built here is great.

What advice would you give to someone who is thinking of moving to Dubrovnik?
Well to live here you have to warm your blood, because this is a warm-blooded country and the local people live in that way.

What are you plans for the future?
I think that when I retire I would love to stay here. I feel like I’m somewhere between England and Turkey, I can fly 2 hours in either direction and I’m there. It’s just a brilliant country to live in. The people are very nice, friendly and helpful and what else do you need? The hotel is doing really well and after three years here the occupancy has gradually grown and there is more to come. I attend travel fairs all over the world and actively support the Croatian National Tourist Board. In fact on the 1st of May I’m going with them to Dubai for the Arabian travel market. At moment most of our guests are British, American, French and German. Croatian guests tend to be business people travelling form Split or Zagreb and they normally only stay for one night. Right now we are thinking about offering something special for the winter because the hotel is open all year.

What was a cultural shock for you when you first came here?
I lived in London for 27 years and I fly directly from London to Zagreb. I was truly surprised how clean the city was. It looked so organised and so well kept, I just feel in love with the city immediately. The centre of London, to be honest, is getting really disgusting. This is a great shame for a world capital.

How did you end up in Dubrovnik?
I came to Dubrovnik 3 years ago after working in London for 26 years. I have worked in the hotel industry all my life and when I got the opportunity to come here I jumped at the chance. Before that I worked in Hertfordshire, Berkshire, West Midlands and London in the hotel industry.

Where is home for you now?
Well my home is here. We have a saying in Turkey that wherever your stomach is being filled that that’s your home. Right now I’m working and filling my stomach in Dubrovnik so here is home for me. Really, this country is in the centre of Europe, Italy, Germany and Greece are all close. We are so lucky to be living in the centre of Europe.

What did you think when you saw Dubrovnik for the first time?
I was just so impressed. I walked through the city gates and I just thought “wow”. I tell everybody that I work in an open-air museum. Every stone that you step on has a history.

Source: Dubrovnik Times