Opened on 29 October 1973 by the then Turkish Foreign Minister İhsan Sabri Çağlayangil and Rauf R. Denktaş, Altun Tabya Hotel is the first and only hotel in Famagusta Kaleiçi. Thanks to the vision of its owner, my father Erol Nihat Altunsoy (Erol Hilmi), it had become a place where many famous artists from Turkey called themselves "Home" after the 1974 Operation. Of these artists, Tanju Okan is the one I remember the most. He used to visit our hotel frequently. At 6 o'clock in the morning, he would sip his whiskey by the wood stove in the lounge of the hotel and make compositions. My father would open the lounge at that time for Tanju Okan. He even introduced his wife on his second visit, and when he separated from his wife, he took his whiskey and cigarettes by the stove in the hotel and wrote the song "My Woman". 

Ekrem Bora and Kayhan Yıldızoğlu are among the other names I remember. When I was a little girl, I used to sign the hotel's souvenir book; the only souvenir I have left is Ekrem Bora's photograph with the inscription "Love to Little Berna". I believe that Altun Tabya Hotel has given unforgettable memories to the valuable artists of Turkey as well as the people of Mağusalılar and Cypriots. 

Compiled by: Berna Altunsoy