Tansel is super nice and very helpful. The apartment is in an area between the old Orient Express railroad tracks (which ceased operating as of two years ago - so there is thankfully no train noise) and the coastal highway. You can tell the area was down-on-its-luck several years ago, but there has been much renovation going on and the area is slowly recovering. The uphill walk to the Hippodrome/Blue Mosque tourist area is five minutes. The apartment itself is a bit dark (most of the windows are covered with curtains because the windows open onto a common hallway in the building - a bit odd - and there one window in the back bedroom that opens onto the garden). There is not much airflow since the curtains are best kept closed for privacy, but Tansel did provide us with a fan which helped to move the air around. The AC was not functioning while we were there (and it did get a bit hot in the apartment), but he apologized and told us told it was going to be fixed shortly. The apartment was clean and the beds were comfy. There was a selection of teas provided which we enjoyed in the garden each morning. The garden is really large and green. The rear portion has a raised patio with a grape trellis that overlooks the sea, the coastal highway and a small boat slip and radar tower. It was fun to sip tea in the morning and watch the hustle bustle from above.

One word of caution - I was told that taxi cabs in Istanbul are notorious for ripping off tourists, and I can attest to that. Use public transportation whenever possible - the trams, the subways, the ferries. The public transportation system is efficient and inexpensive. Our ride to out Ataturk Airport via tram/subway was quick and easy. Avoid taxi cabs at all cost.