Şaban was a great host from start to finish. His place is in the perfect location to all of the wonderful sites in Sultanahmet. And a little walking will take you to the Bosphorus strait!
When we arrived, Şaban met us at his place and let us in, and answered all questions we had. One of the air conditioners was acting up and when we notified him, he promptly came and cleaned the filter. It was a little better but by the end of our stay, two out of the three air conditioners were struggling. However, we did go to Istanbul during an extremely hot period so it wasn’t surprising.
The parking was tricky. But that was also because we drove our American 8 seater mini-van and it is always a challenge to park it in Turkey. Şaban was very helpful and told us where to park, and we didn’t touch our car until the day we left.
All in all, Şaban’s place was a good fit for our family of 6, because it was in the PERFECT location to all the sites. Literally 2 minutes to a small bazaar, 5-7 min to the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. We even made friends with the owner of the restaurant next to Şaban’s place! Also, when we lost the keys to the apartment while we were on a yacht in the middle of the Bosphorus, Şaban told us not to worry and met us at his place with a new set of keys ready for us. He was a great host.
If you want to be near(steps away) to all the great sites in Sultanahmet, then Şaban’s place is definitely a great choice!