I stayed in Alev's flat and had a great time - as always in Istanbul, though this time my stay was somewhat turbulent due to outside influences;-) The flat itself is cute, very big for one traveller and still big enough for two or even more. It's also very silent (yeay!), though it's close to Sıraselviler/Taksim/Istiklal. Cihangir is a great area, I liked my neighbourhood, everything I needed/wanted was in walking distance.

Unfortunately I could not meet Alev in person, but she's definitely easy-going and was very helpful. Many thanks, hopefully I'll be back!