Dear Everybody,

My girlfriend and I came to Istanbul for a weekend getaway and stayed with Hamdan for the weekend. She's right, the view is incomparable. God knows what she did to get that place but we had a fantastic time sitting on her terrace drinking the night away while watching the boats go by. The rooms are airy, light and spacious, and the bathroom has possibly the biggest tub I've ever seen. It's in a lovely part of Kadikoy on the Asian side, which means you have to catch the last ferry if you're hanging on the European side but that's just fun anyway. Nothing like the night ferries to see Istanbul properly.

Hamdan herself is a hoot. A quirky lady with a background in theatre, she is a lively and entertaining lady. Very friendly and welcoming. She let us have our privacy, for which we thank her profusely, but the three of us spent one evening having a most excellent conversation after we came back from Kadikoy's fish restaurant district. Couldn't have asked for a better stay.