I stayed at pinar's house for one month. The location is in Tarlabasi, ten minutes walk from Istiklal Cadessi...the neighboorhood is of course different from cihangir or taksim, but that was cool for me. The market on sundays is great, so is the owner of the supermarket next door. During my stay theres was twice no water nor energy, what is a problem the whole city has to deal with. Take a torch with u ;-) If u ever should take a taksi to the house: the drivers do not use navigation, so they do not know the spot. Tell them it s near ömer hayyam, the second street after the tunel. That will help u a lot I guess. Thx Pinar for quick response!