We stayed at Nisantasi, Sisli for 6 days during winter time. The apartment is across the police Station.
Getting here.
The taxi ride from airport to the apartment cost roughly 170 lira (by meter). You need to factor the jam at selected places in Istanbul. Alternatively, you can arrange for an personal airport transfer which cost $120 lira.
The apartment
Apartment is spacious & cozy. It is Ideal for a family of 4. The Hall is spacious and great place to hang around especially with the free super fast wireless provided. The kitchen utensils provided are good and relatively new. But for hygiene purpose, we bought our own set of disposal plates, cups, our knives and some frying pan from a nearby supermarket (these items are provided if you are fine using them). The lift is abit to small (Turkish style) but we manage to fit in. However we prefer using the stairs then the lift (Great for daily workout). The second bedroom bed provided is abit too soft for our liking but still manageable.
The location
The location is great. It is situated within a shopping belt where you get all the branded goods and shopping stuffs. The mosque is only 3mins walk from the apartment 😁. The stuff at Godiva is literally 60% off from the local prices in Singapore.
Money Exchange
Singapore Dollars is not widely accepted in turkey. When accepted, the rates offered are extremely Low. The best money changer we found at Taksim offered 3.63 for every SGD. The worst was 3.2 and the average was 3.5. Credit card was converting at a rate of $3.75. The rates that we see online is 3.85 for every sgd. I hope that gives you an idea. It is better to bring USD, Euro, AUD.
Cab
Getting a cab near the apartment is not easy and once you get a cab, going out of the area takes time as traffic is always congested. But since it is winter, we don’t mind walking. The place can also be noisy during Night time especially Fri & Sat nights. But again, that’s the beauty of the location.
Domalbache Palace
30mins was from the apartment. The place is 45,000 sqm. Access is free but it will cost you 90 lira to visit the main 2 halls (the Harem and the admin building). You can easily spend half a day here. If you don’t have time, visit the harem which only cost 40lira and takes about 1.5hrs. Be sure to use the assisted audio provided at the entrance which is free. It makes visiting the place more informative and lively.
Mosque
There are 2 mosque around the apartment. The nearest Mosque (Teşvikiye) is within 3mins walking distance. It is literally 100 steps away. During winter fajar is at 6.30am and Jemaah prayers normally start 40mins later. Do note that the actual mosque is currently under construction. If you are coming for Friday prayers, expect to pray outside as the temporary mosque is too small for the population.
The other mosque (Domalbache Mosque) is 30mins away. The interior is georgeous. Needless to say, it has of the most unique architecture among all of the Ottoman mosques in Istanbul. The mosque is made is 1855.
You can also go for a 1hr cruise ride. The start point is behind Domalbache mosque.
Taksim Square
You can walk to Taksim Square from the apartment. Use Google maps to guide you. It may not be so straight forward and the road is also quite hilly. But overall, you will get a good workout. At Taksim, you can do more shopping, eat and walk around & take the tram ride. A taxi ride back to Nisantasi from Taksim cost $20 lira. Taksim is full of tourists. You can buy all the tourist stuffs there and get lots of good food at reasonable prices.
Cevahir Mall
To the north of the apartment is Cevahir Mall is. This is the main shopping centre for the locals. You can take a cab which cost $13lira or spend 30 minutes and take a walk. It’s quite an easy walk. Walk down at Rumeli Road and Turn Right at Halaskargazi Rd and head straight down till you reach the mall. As we are here during winter, the walk is very cooling and nice. However, the walk to the mall is more exciting than the mall itself. From the apartment, once you head down after osmanbey, you will come across many local shops selling a wide varieties of turkish shoes, boots, clothing, dresses, food, toys. They are reasonably priced as compared to the mall or nishantasi area.
Overall 5 stars for this location. Great value for money. Thanks Nic!