Visiting Istanbul as a city is a magical experience as it is. If anything that can surpass that is meeting Isil!
My friend and I chose Turkey as a destination because both of us work in different parts of the world and this was right in the middle. Instead of hotels we felt getting an independent flat might work better for us. I am not exaggerating when I say how grateful we we were at making this decision.
The flat was super clean and only 10 minutes away from town (Taxsim), which made our whole trip incredibly convenient. It is also only a 5 minute journey on the buss to Emoninu which connects you to everything else, whether you are going to Sultanahmet area or would like to take a ferry to the Asian side. The Balat Fener area where the flat is located itself is very historic and has a charm of it's own. It's queue, has historical churches and mosques as well as cafés that each have their own unique character.
Isil as a host is fantastic. She went out of her way to make us feel comfortable by showing us the local area, helped us sort out our personal itinerary as well as letting us know the local transport links to use. She is really a gem of a person and it was an absolute privilege staying with her. Not only will I stay there again in the future but I would wholeheartedly recommend her to anyone else who is planning on visiting Istanbul.