Esen is a host extraordinaire and more importantly an exceptional human being. He not only made our trip comfortable and easy; making sure we knew all the transportation options, helping us look up domestic flights and train journeys for other legs of trips, but gave us great insight into the people of Istanbul, city-life, and provided a healthy friendly environment that we looked forward to returning to each day. Although the two of us usually prefer grittier and hipper neighborhoods (Nisanti is a bit upper-crust for us) Esen's graciousness, care, and conversation trumped our preference of locale. When we come back to Istanbul, we'll definitely stay with Esen again.