The Story of Hostel Vague
Yasmin, the hostel's owner, has been into knowing the world so much so that she started dreaming about traveling to unknown lands from a very young age.. It wasn’t a “normal” thing in the towns where she used to live, no one could understand her including her own family. After a long period of researching about the ways of traveling, she took her backpack and went to the nearest possible country, with one thing in her 19 years old mind; that is to discover everything as much as if there is no returning. She has traveled more than 30 countries during 6 years, doing all sorts of things coming along her way and learning new skills and ways of thinking insatiably. She hitchhiked solo for the majority of her trip and was able to meet an incredible amount of people and experience their perspectives everywhere she’s been. She traveled with almost no money, volunteering in most places in exchange for accommodation, making music on the street with the musicians she met and used couchsurfing to stay in the places where she was passing by.
She’s had some missions to accomplish and one of them brought her back to the land where she was born. She gained some talents, one of which was designing fashion, and it is a field that includes tremendous amount of materials, decreasing her mobility. Finally, she decided to move around Turkey to find a town where she can actually design and create something unique and host people, to give her gratitude to the universe.
Not long after falling in love with the old town of Antalya at the end of 2018, she found this abandoned house, and moved in with Loco, which is the smartest dog on earth that she adopted from the streets of the old town. Thanks to him, she could have the motivation to continue after having faced many difficulties from the beginning, including a pandemic crisis after a few months of starting the business. She couldn’t give up with no place to go, with this little monster puppy in her backpack. The first year, she and Loco slept on the floor on the back patio which was a jungle before clearing the garden. Working nonstop, sometimes 20 hours per day; construction and dust and sweat in every square meter of the building, and with the precious assistance of a few friends and family members helping out, this amazing home has opened to the world.
Questions to the Founder
Is it easy to open/own a hostel?
The hostel has been like a baby to me, requiring a lot of attention and energy from the birth till this day, learning how to take its first steps and feed by itself. No time to travel, nor to meet my own needs while being too busy developing the place and creating its rules and systems to manage it, organically, day by day.
Yes, it’s very rewarding to see travelers finding their home away from home and realize how big our community becomes. However; I wouldn’t say it was/is easy to open/own a hostel. Ironically, it’s not that difficult either, once you trust in the universe and let it bring the best out of you.
Where does Vague come from?
It’s been my online surname for a long time, since everyone wants to be confidential on social media, without knowing much about its meaning. Only when I researched about it’s etymology, I realized how suitable it is to me In the past and to the people the hostel will bring to itself; Long-distance traveler.
Are you doing any fashion design projects?
I’ve been busy with renovations on the house and garden; carpentry, painting murals and sewing the bedding and curtains at the hostel. As soon as I have time, I’m planning on adding it into my schedule.
Do you have a bigger project?
Yes. For a business to survive, growth is an imperative, not an option. But to which direction, I will have to decide as soon as in 2023, for the fact that the landlord has decided to take over the business. Even though, it means that we won’t be able to continue here in this building, it doesn’t mean we will give up. As every cloud has a silver lining, this will only make us be stronger and more creative! :)
