We enjoyed staying at Garen's place. It was me, my husband, brother in law, and mother in law. I will say that for anyone a bit older or has trouble walking, the stairs up to the apartment will be difficult as it is on the third floor. Otherwise, the place was very clean and nice to stay in for two weeks. The apartment is walking distance to Istiklal (one of Istanbul's famous shopping streets) and near many good restaurants. We never felt unsafe, but also did not spend a large amount of time hanging right outside the apartment as we spent time during the day and evenings in other parts of Istanbul. There was one incident where a fight broke out in front of the apartment while my husband and I were waiting for a taxi and someone fired a gun four times so we ran down the street. We alerted the host of this and he was very communicative on if we wanted to change places, however it was on our second to last day and not worth the move. I don't believe this was a regular occurrence in the area but felt responsible to add into the review. I recommend this place to anyone looking for an affordable stay in a convenient location of Istanbul.