To begin with the neighborhood is fabulous, everything is close, the cafes, bars, the waterfront, parks.
The apartment is beautifully designed and decorated and has a beautiful little garden, that nobody else seems to use. I
It has two bedrooms a kitchen that opens into a big living room and a medium-sized bathroom. It's on the ground floor, but the bedrooms are towards the garden. So it's dark and cool in summer (there is no AC). Gonca and her boyfriend were sharing the big bedroom.
I rented the small bedroom which is a walk-through room, you have to cross it to get to the garden. The doors are very thin, half-glass, so there is very little sound insulation, so it's not a very quiet room (Gonca wants to change that). Remember Istanbul is a zoo, there are hundreds of cats, dogs and birds in the neighborhood. With open windows in summer, it's quite a concert. If you want to avoid that you have to choose an apartment with an AC., where you can keep the windows closed. By late August the heat is no big problem anymore though.
I took care of the small cat, which could be quite demanding at times, waking me up in the morning, looking to be stroked and played with. But she was very endearing.
Gonca and her boyfriend were the most gracious host, so I would definitely come again!