Gosh. I don't even know where to start. this was, by far, the best vacation EVER and honestly our wonderful host Tuna and her beautiful and warm family play a monumental role! from responding promptly my emails before we visited to the entire tenure of our stay of two weeks, she was an absolutely splendid host. I know I've made a friend for life. We intended to get a place on the Asian side, where we could be far off from the insanity of the tourism commotion but also be able to access it for sight seeing the usual popular sites and that's exactly what tuna's place is. the house was spotless, comfy and very relaxing and warm after a cold day out. The beds were clean, clean towels laid out, it was a lovely little home away from home for me, my husband and my 5 year old daughter. We even enjoyed the garden on sunny days, had tea outside, laid in the hammock and just unwind. the nearby bulgurlu market which is a downhill walk was also a pleasant surprise, the restaurants there were amazing and we got so comfortable with their excellent service ( and much more food for value) compared to the European side that we would have all our meals there. Tuna even took me to the local thursday market where i bought the cheapest and most amazing salmon and nuts and died fruit and she also showed me how best to cook the salmon! the second day tuna even showed us the Cagri departmental stoire which has all the groceries you might need and a lovely bakery where I shopped plenty of times! Right across the street is a wonderful spice shop with all kinds of exotic spices and teas. There is also a dizzying number of amazing bakeries, baklava and sweet houses, even clothes stores, all in the very easy vicinity of Tunas house. also a bus or mini van ride to Uskudar or Kadikoy and you can do all your souvenier and other shopping with much more variety and much cheaper than the European side. There's a 5 lira shop in Kadikoy that I went berserk in! Tuna very kindly explained the whole metro, bus and ferry ride system to us and we barely ever needed a taxi. She helped guide me with the entire itinerary. she was also amazingly helpful when we needed guidance of any kind when we were lost or confused about something, Tuna was just a phone call away! i know words can never suffice but if you want to experience the local warmth and feel of the turkish culture along with all the tourist attractions, this is the absolute best place. This was our first air bnb experience and tuna has set the bar extremely high for any successive air bnb bookings we make! We are definitely returning and this was, at the cost of sounding repetitive, the absolute best vacation ever! Love you Tuna!