First time I came to Istanbul and I am incredibly happy and glad I stayed at Oktay's place.
He is definitely the best host I have ever met. Before I get into the details of the house Iwould like to say that Oktay is an amazing person, a guy who really loves to meet new people and enjoys showing them around and giving details for what to do. He even made 2 pdf files, one for the neighborhood and one for the city with different things to do. The nice thing about that is that you get the perspective of a local which in trips like that is very valuable knowledge. I am also very thankful to have met such a good person because he helped us in different emergencies that we had on our trip.
Regarding the house, it is located in Besiktas center which is very close to a lot of bars, restaurants, bakeries and so on. You can find some real gems in that area and Oktay will surely recommend you the best.
From the house you can walk max 5 min and go to the pier from where you can take a boat to the other side or take a bus/tram towards the center which would take approximately 30 minutes and is a pleasant ride. So in general transportation is easy and convenient.
The house is plenty big for 2 people. It is very spacious, extremely clean, with everything available. This house literally has everything you might need. Another big advantage is that it is quite and since a lot of people might be bothered from the sound of the mosques, I got to inform you that I didn't hear anything whenever I was sleeping.
There are a lot more information I could probably give about the house but I don't know from where to begin.
We really had a difficult time because of the weather in Istanbul but Oktay and his house made our stay unforgettable. I will surely visit Istanbul again and try to stay at Oktay's place. I recommend him as a host and as a house to stay in the city, you won't find a better place! Thanks again for everything Oktay!