I chose Umut’s place because I wanted a local home stay experience in Istanbul. Umut’s mum, Aynur, welcomed me upon arrival with a cup of Turkish Tea and her gorgeous friendly hospitality. I then had an incredible 2.5 hour hamam (Turkish bath) before sitting down to eat a delicious home cooked dinner with Umut, his mother and another border from Canada. We had a super evening together. I loved Aynur’s Turkish cooking so much I asked to return another night for a cooking lesson. I was going to book a lesson with a Turkish cooking company but thought why not Aynur instead. It was such an incredible evening learning how to cook Turkish food, I shall never forget it. We all enjoyed a dinner feast afterwards and I have lots of cooking tips to take back to Australia with me. For me, a female tourist travelling alone, Umut’s place was perfect. Umut helped to organise everything I needed from being picked up from the airport and driven to his house, to booking an incredible Hamam and transport there and back, in addition to a private cooking lesson with his mother in their apartment. Umut helped organise airport transport for my friends as well as answering many questions via prompt messenging. I will definitely stay again at Umut’s place because I really felt like it was a home away from home. Umut is an incredibly nice guy with excellent English. Nothing was too much trouble for him. And Umut’s mum is such a warm and loving Turkish lady she will also make you feel at home. I can’t recommend Umut’s place highly enough.