An excellent 9 night stay in Istanbul! Aylin’s duplex looks just like it does in the photos…clean, cozy and modern. It is located about a quarter of a block down a very steep cobblestone hill (which was not problematic until it snowed the last few days of our trip and the sidewalks were icy) and about 2-3 blocks downhill from Istiklal Avenue where there are many, many restaurants, bars, cafes and shopping. It was a great neighborhood to come back to every evening…always somewhere new to have dinner (so many places, so little time!). Duplex itself quickly became our home away from home. It was quiet and just what we needed after a busy day of sightseeing. Bed was very comfortable with nice linens. Aylin was kind and very responsive even reaching out to see if we needed clean towels, etc half way through our 9 night stay. We did take her up on the offer to arrange transportation from the airport on arrival and were glad we did. Overall, an excellent stay…we loved Istanbul and would not hesitate to stay here again!

On a side note, we found the easiest way for us to get to the old city via the T2 line is to walk straight up the hill to Istiklal Avenue, turn right and either walk down Istiklal and then down the hill past Galata Tower to the T2 line at Karakoy or to take the F2 from the Tunel stop (to the right of the Tunel Stop Café at the end of Istiklal Avenue) which is only one stop and will take you down the hill to meet the Karakoy stop. T2 is the line that goes around the old city.