My husband and I stayed with Basma in her apartment for a total of 8 nights in September 2012. We had an absolutely wonderful stay; Basma's warmth, an always smiling face and hospitality was something we looked forward to coming back to each night. She told us where to buy the best baklava to bring back home, how to get to the airport very early in the morning without paying some ridiculous amount, where to find tasty and inexpensive home styled food. It was so fun to have breakfast with her a few times in her apartment. Overall, I think staying with Basma made our trip even more enjoyable.

Her apartment is a 30 min walk to the SultanAhmed area (we walked both ways pretty much every day); the tram is steps away and the subway is a 10 min walk away. It was very easy to get to her place from the Ataturk airport (via subway, she came to the stop to walk us back to her apartment). There are lots of restaurants, grocery stores and small clothing stores near her apartment. The apartment itself is pretty basic but has everything one would need for a comfortable stay. You can use the kitchen and the fridge. She gave us our own key so we could come and go any time. I definitely recommend this place because of its location, its budget friendliness and most of all due to wonderful Basma herself!