Murat's place is VERY CLOSE to Taksim square and a lot of shops. you can get everything within 100m. the house is nice, have anough basic appliances to accomodate your stay. the only downside is that it is on 3rd floor. you will have to climb up the stairs (very steep) to get to the unit. it was challenging to bring up the luggage up the stairs. Murat was a very great help during our stay, he attended to all of our request and helped to make sure we are comfortable. he even lent us his IstanbulKart so that we can ride the tram!
the unit is close to taksim station and also a 10 minutes walk to the tram station down the hill. do not walk up the hill if you're coming back from the tram station, instead stop at Kabatas station and take the funikular up tp taksim square. from there, you just need to walk 200m down to the unit. the walk up to the unit from tram station is very steep!