Handan's apartment in Beyoglu is a true slice of cool Istanbul. It's smack bang in the middle of the action - there's lots of noise and activity and stuff happening around you -we loved being in the middle of all of this. It's a 5 minute walk to Taksim Square, and even closer to the fabulous Istiklal Street and all the wonderful little laneways snaking around it. So much to do here - eat to your heart's content, drink, shop, take a ride on the nostalgic tram, jump on the funicular - it's all right here! You may want earplugs as the locals love staying up late but it's genuine, authentic and we loved it. Handan was travelling herself but responded super fast to any queries we had or things we needed. "Could we have some fresh towels and bathmat please"? "Sure, no problem" And there it was waiting for us when we got home later that day. The apartment is small but hip. Cool furniture, comfy bed, great shower. It's only up one flight of (very steep - like most of the stairs in Istanbul) stairs so it's easy to get your luggage up there, and it has great security with a mammoth wrought iron door to the street and double locks on the front door. If you want to be where the action is, I thoroughly recommend staying at Handan's apartment. LOVE!!!