It was a terrific place to get to know a much more authentic and traditional side of Istanbul! While the house is at the top of a hill, at the bottom there are a bunch of hip cafes and restaurants (although no booze in the neighborhood if that's important). Getting to the main tourist sites is a breeze. The bus to Eminönü takes 15 minutes and is right at the bottom of the hill (which is a five minute walk if you find the most efficient route) and quite frequent. You can also walk to Sultanahmet in about an hour, which is a great way to wander. The house itself is quite cute, and I appreciated Mustafa's help, especially in doing laundry and holding my bags when I left. My only warning would be to light sleepers: since it was Ramadan while I was there kids and families stay up quite late in the street, which was a bit noisy. Otherwise it was wonderful and I'd fully recommend!