Cast of characters: family of three which is me, my husband and our little roaring demon of the son;
Venue: the heart of Cihangir;
Duration: one wonderful unforgettable month;
Scene first. The flat.
The flat is big, but not too big. In fact there are four rooms (3 bedrooms and dining room). We were chilling in the dining area, sleeping in further bedroom, eating pistachios in the second bedroom and my husband worked in first bedroom.
Enough place for everyone. Our son was cruising along the whole territory like the pirate ship, the air ranging with his wild shouts.
Yeah, one tiny fact makes this place perfect for families with kids. There's Cihangir beauty studio downfloor, so you can dance as if there's no tomorrow in the middle of the night without bothering anyone. Exactly what you need, raising feral hyppo or, say, toddler.
The flat is equipped with everything you might need, starting with full range of dishes and everything at the kitchen, finishing with cable tv and air conditioning.
As soon as my Nigerian prince dies and I will finally inherit all his wealth by the email, I will buy this flat, write it down to the books!
Scene two. The location.
- next door to simit bakery
- Carrefour in 5 minutes
- two other big supermarkets in 2-3 minutes
- one small supermarket next door
- 10 minutes walk to Taksim and Istiklal
- 10 minutes walk in other direction to Ali Kilic Pasa mosque, tram station and temptations of Karakoy
- countless breakfast places in the area, checked all of them, still no regrets.
- restaurants for everybody: local cuisine (check Kizilkaylar near Taksim, 10 minutes), European food (check Firuz, 1 minute by feet. Big portions, beware), Tex-mex (be careful with tacos, they are literally unforgettable), even freaking Thai restaurant with Nepali cook, 7 minutes down.
- Fatih apartments are located near the antique flee store quarter, so you know what to do!
Scene three. Hospitality.
Any questions? Call Fatih
Need anything? Call Fatih
Sink is drained? Call Fatih
You cat is giving birth? I'm not 100% sure, but probably still call Fatih
***
Okay, this love romance should have a grain of salt in it. What are disadvantages of this flat?
1. I have no idea why, but GPS leads to another house. Just check for grey and yellow house with big Cihangir Beauty sign. That's exactly the place you are looking for.
2. The internet might not work perfectly sometimes, but you already know what to do - call Fatih. Still, 93% of time it worked well.
3. There's a way of a warrior when you come back home from the tram station. You will have very sharp climb to reach home, probably coughing your lungs out first times. But it's just the problem of the area, the whole Beyoglu is situated on the arduous hill, so be a man (or a woman) and do it!
4. The street is pretty loud, specially at night. By obscure reasons turkish drivers hold it their duty to make as much noise as possible, listening to the music as loud as they can. Maybe they are afraid of the dark?
On the other hand you will familiarize yourself with local culture - unforgettable turkish pop (always sounds like Tarkan), trap, gangsta rap and (suddenly) best of 70s dance music. So relax, you'll be staying aliiiive.
Short summary: it was a great stay, perfect location, nonintrusive and helpful hosts and very nice price.
6 out of 5.