My first trip to Istanbul ever, and to attribute it to Erhan's amazing, functional, apartment with great location, it made the trip even better.
Let's first talk about the location, the location is relatively quiet compared to many other streets. You won't wake up in the middle of the night from calls to prayers from nearby mosques. Cihangir is a very hip and international district, all the cafes and bars around are foreigner friendly and extremely delicious!
Then the apartment, ah, the apartment. Towards the end of my stay, I just wish I didn't have to leave, as it's so homey, comfortable, bright, and functional. If you like cooking, the kitchen is stashed with cooking utensils; we made breakfast and dinner easily (there's even a toaster!) If you work from home, Erhan's got the best work-from-home desk you can ask for in the living room, which basically feels like a coworking space. Wifi works well. We had no trouble at all with the washing either.
Erhan is also extremely hospitable with sharing the fun must-dos in the city, and nice neighbourhood cafes. You’ll be set up with a list of things to do, places to visit, sights to see and more restaurants, cafes and bars you could visit over the course of one stay. He’ll also get on a call with you whenever you have a doubt about anything -- which means we never had to worry about anything related to the apartment because help was always one call or message away!
The only thing that you may need to consider is that it is a walk up building, though just two floors. We never had a problem with that, as the staircase was very wide, and the steps are easy to walk on.
As Erhan has other apartments too, I can’t wait to return to Istanbul and maybe stay at some of his other apartments!