As an Australian, my Turkish language skills were limited to "Land on the beach, climb the hill, how hard could it be?', so it was a relief and a joy to speak with the urbane and knowledgeable Mehmet, who kindly allowed us an early check-in to his lovely and centrally-located apartment. Not yet too gentrified that we needed a tattoo to order a beer, the neighbourhood was a smorgasbord of cafes and restaurants, and conveniently located between Metro and tramway, Taksim and the Galata Tower, east and west. Clean, comfortable and within earshot of the muezzin wake-up call, Mehmet made himself the perfect host by leaving Istanbul the day we arrived: we can only hope his holiday was as lovely as ours. Mehmet, if you don't sell, we will be back. Many thanks, Colin and Vicki. x
four stars!