Zalal's apartment was a great place to stay for our week in Istanbul. We quickly discovered that it was better located for public transport options than we expected - especially for tram, metro, and ferry. There is a tram line just 10-15mins down the hill that runs towards Karakoy, Eminonu and Sultanahmet etc, which we used a lot. Similarly the ferry terminal Kabatas is one of the major ones and was amazingly useful for us to get to Kadikoy, Adalar (Prince's Islands), and we also had a sunset boat tour from there! There was also the metro stop at Taksim square which was useful at times as well.
The apartment is in Cihangir which is an area with cool little neighbourhoods, and is relaxed so it was easy to relax on the rooftop terrace. We loved the terrace, there was a backgammon set in the apartment that we played on the table out there. Beyoglu (the area Cihangir is in) in general has loads of restaurants and bars to choose from! I would warn that the street the apartment building is on is quite steep - wasn't an issue for us but may be a consideration for those with limited mobility. However it is hilly all around here so you'd struggle to find somewhere in a completely flat area.
The apartment itself was very clean and tidy, with everything we needed (a very cold fridge, freezer, desk fan, in particular!) and there was only 2 of us so there was plenty of space. We had some very warm weather and there were mosquito nets which meant we could leave windows open to cool down, without the threat of mosquito bites!
Zalal was very communicative and responsive, and happy to help with everything. For example I left behind two credit cards, so she arranged for them to be destroyed and sent me evidence of that too. Thanks Zalal!
Would highly recommend this apartment 🇹🇷 💕 😍