Özlem and Metin are incredible hosts and special people, and it was such a pleasure to meet and stay with them. Ozlem is warm and responsive in communication, and her husband Metin even showed me some of the sights around Istanbul my first day there. When I wasn't off solo-exploring, we shared some meals together; exchanged travel stories (in Spanish, as Metin has spent extensive time in South America, and that was an easier common language for us! :)), and talked politics (fascinating if troubling, in Turkey right now). My last evening, we went out for dinner & drinks with their friends -- all also really interesting, well-read, educated people (doctors, an electrical engineer, a teacher, a local politician). Metin helped me to get to the airport via Havabus (less expensive than a cab ride) even though it was fairly late at night(!). To summarize my stay, Özlem and Metin are tremendously kind warm interesting souls, and my stay with them was much more than a hotel or hostel accommodation could have provided. Thank you, and see you next time in Africa or South America :))) --Celia