Wake in the morning from the generous size bed, step along the corridor to the sun filled room and open the double doors onto the balcony looking over the terracotta rooftops across the sparkling Bosporus to the horizon beyond punctuated by the domes and minarets of several mosques. Sit on the candlelit balcony with a glass of wine at the end of the day as the city lights up for the night. This is your home in Istanbul, beautifully understated in simple choices of furniture and textiles right down to the glassware in the kitchen. Leave the apartment and you are immediately a part of a vibrant neighbourhood. When I arrive I drop off my shirts to be laundered for the next day, pick up a few basics from the grocers, pomegranate juice, kefir, ayran, to the local bakery for simit, a Turkish coffee at the cafe, and always, always a shave at the local barbers. Aynali Cesme, curving like a cat's tail all the way down the hill almost to the water, it'll stay in your heart forever.