I've been living in Pinar's place for almost two months now and I really enjoy this place. The building is located just 5-10 minutes walk from Istiklal but in a local area that gives a different charming experience of Istanbul than the fancy touristic areas. There's a supermarked just around the corner and a lively marked every Sunday whith vegetables, cheeses, clothes and more.

The atmosphere in the building (which has washing machines, drying racks, vacuum cleaners) is good and you don't get a feeling that a lot of people come and go all the time. It's nice and calm here and everybody takes care of the place.

In the neighboring apartment next to my room there is a carpenter's workshop, and he makes quite a bit of noise sometimes during the day, but if you're out and about in Istanbul during the day that's of course not a problem. If I come home in the night I'll take a taxi but up untill around midnight there's usually quite a lot of people out in the streets and walking home is fine.

Pinar has been super helpfull with everything from small practical things in the apartment to lending me an extra matress and things like that. She also has a couple of really nice friends who turn up in no time if needed (since Pinar is living in Africa at the time I'm staying here).