ISTANBUL EYE

We stayed at Istanbul Eye for a week (Feb 17th - Feb 24th). Boy! What a wonderfull week that was. We loved the apartment and the neighborhood. The apartment matched everything mentioned in the website and Metehan slapped on a microwave on request as well--ofcourse for a price! I will have to say our kids (aged 8 and 5) enjoyed very much. The Dia(the grocery store) a block away was a God sent for all our needs near the Galata Tower! At the Galata Tower, there is a taxi stand. In a few cases, we stood for a 4-5 minutes to take a cab. That was okay. The end of Istikalal Street (very nice shopping neighborhood) is also a block away. We took Funicular (train) to get down the hill to the waterfront below. (1 YTL / adult; children are always free). Turks love children I suppose. We even saw an elderly gentleman vacate his seat to provide seating for our kids and the passers-by pat their heads and smile occasionally as well. Metehan was a perfect host and a warm personality. We even had Kannan help us out / accompany us to show us all the neighborhood and a couple of times helped us out on babysitting as well. So trustworthy--without his help we couldn't have had a great vacation. He accompanied us to the Grand Bazaar / Topkapi Palace and generally very helpful. The apartment had all the amenities we ever wanted /wished for. Imagine the the first two days we landed were near zero, snow, blizzard etc and a day of raining and final 2 days of sun and clear days! Washer / Heating / towels / general supplies (plentyful) and all. By the way, don't forget to dine at the restaurant behind Hilton hotel--we don't remember the name--but was treated for a very nice dinner accompanied by the belly dancers (a couple of men & 1/2 a dozen women)!! It was a veritable close! The City mall was good for shopping experience. Visit the Grand Bazaar only if you are serious about buying anything. The carpets are EXPENSIVE--but Turkish though! Also, don't get yourself treated with Turkish Hamam. There is a place right off of the Istikalal Street (very very decent one--I don't remember the name easily). Charges run from $40 to $70 for bath and massage (full service). My wife loved it! FINALLY, do not forget to buy boxes of Turkish Delights, ceramic tiles or alladin's lamps!!!! Everyone loved it on out return! Thanks Metehan for arranging the airport pickup and drop back...I still remember very much the help you and Kannan provided carrying our suitcases all the way up the hill to our apartment. Your cheer is on our video!!

My wife, Gillian, and I decided to spend the month of December (07) in Istanbul. Our plan was to try to find a flat in a central location and then explore the city using mass transit or walking. Our daughters, Emma and Kaola, joined us for a week.

Istanbul Eye was an incredible find.

The flat was perfect. The kitchen was well stocked with everything we needed, the bedrooms and beds were comfy, the living room is spacious and the bathroom was excellent (I want a towel warming rack in my house...).

But the real beaty of Istanbul Eye is not what is obvious on the website.

The flat has great light. The deck offers the best views in Istanbul. You can see the Topkapi Palace, the Bosphorus, the Golden Horn, and the all of the major mosques of the Sultanahmet. The view in the evening is breathtaking.

But the real charm of Istanbul Eye is the neighborhood. In a short walk of about a block, you are on İstiklal Avenue, one of the the central shopping and dining areas in Istanbul.

The restaurants and bookstores, and shops go on for blocks and blocks, and from dawn till the wee hours. It has to be one of the most pleasant, pedestrian-friendly shopping areas in the world.

And a short walk down the hill is first the Galata Tower, then the Galata Bridge, and then your are in
Sultanahmet. Ferries to the Asian side, or up the Bosphorus are right at the bottom of the hill.
It is an incredible location.

And finally, Metehan and his crew were fabulous. The cleaning crew was great and the drivers accomodated every one of our travel hickups and schedule changes.

We are already planning to go back.
I recommend Istanbul Eye anyone. We really had a wonderful stay.

Greg Swanson
www.itzpublishing.com
Portland, OR

A really great place to stay - the location is excellent, the view spectacular. Thanks a million for making our stay so comfortable and relaxing, Metehan!

Istanbul Eyes flat is the one you must rent for your stay in Istanbul. Website pictures are really what it looks like. Having breakfast or diner on the roof terrace is wonderful with bosphore and main momunents view. Also good to know : Metehan, the property manager, is simply Great ! Thks a lot Mete, we enjoyed very much our stay.

Every summer, I stay (alone) in "Istanbul Eye" for about 2 weeks. The large 2-bdrm flat is much bigger than I need for myself, but it's too gorgeous to resist! Every bit as nice as the pictures suggest, and the view from the terrace is spectacular. The flat also has all conveniences (except an elevator!), and the location is perfect.
Thanks again Metehan for being such a great host. I was especially surprised and appreciative of all your quick responses when I kept having problems with my arrival. See you next summer!

We stayed in this wonderful apartment for five days and loved it so much we didnt want to go out,it was so comfortable with every convenience,to be thoroughly recommended.
Thank you Metehan for all your help and hope to see you in 2008.

My husband and I stayed at Istanbul Eye and thoroughly enjoyed it. The neighborhood reminded me of my little french neighborhood in Lowell Massachusetts with the corner store, fresh vegetbles, chldren playing outside under their mother's watchful eye, etc. Very earthy and full of sights and sounds that brought new adventure every day. My husband was enamoured with the view of the harbor with non-stop passage of ships. Each evening we sat outside until the sun set. We especially enjoyed that just around the corner was the main shopping street. Access to the trolly, metro and ferry were all within 2-5 minutes walk. We especially want to thank Metehan for being so helpful and even giving us a neighborhood tour to give us our bearings. We so highly recommend this apartment.

Dear Metehan
We had a fantastic time in the 'Istanbul Eye'. The flat was extremely comfortable, in a great location and had superb views. The choice of bars and restaurants around Istiklal Cadessi was brilliant, catering for meat eaters and vegetarians. It was great that Sultanahmet and the old city were only 40 - 50 minutes away by foot and could be reached by a variety of interesting routes. Getting onto the ferries and out to the Princes' Islands was easy and particularly rewarding after a couple of days in the city. We used the funicular to come home up the hill every day, which made it easier to revive ourselves on the terrace before going out in the evening. I would recommend this excellent holiday venue to anyone. Thank you for all your help and the efficiency of the drivers who picked us up and dropped us off at the airport.

Many thanks
Helen, Steve, Cathy & Pete (Manchester UK)

We are back to Paris after this marvellous week in Istanbul.
Istanbul Eye is the ideal place for visiting Istanbul. The flat is located in a quite, central and nice area close to the main tourist places. It is spacious and light. We really felt as if we were at home thanks to Metehan welcome.
If you want to catch the magic of the city : at nightfall just go up to the roof terrace overlooking the enlightened city hear the Muezzin prayers. It is an unforgettable moment!!

Many thanks for everything Metehan.

Four of us stayed over Christmas....we were very well received and Metehan put us in touch with Ufuk Gökdeniz, a great guide who took us out for the day. The flat was really cosy, we certainly needed it to be after our mild English winter! Really great views across the city from the sitting room and the terrace. We didn't want for anything whilst we were there.

It was a great location - less of the sights but great for good and atmospheric bars and restaurants in the evening when you come home shattered!

Just one thing to note, as the apartment is quite high up there are many stairs and its also surrounded by brief but steep hills so its worth bearing this in mind if you're limbs aren't great or all present and correct......we're looking forward to going back in the summer next time and wouldn't consider staying anywhere else. Christmas 2006.

Derya hanım, fiyatlar RATES & RESERVATIONS sayfamızda. Buradan ulaşabilirsiniz.
http://www.istanbulsweethome.com/rates.shtml

fiyatlarınızı göremedim aylık fiyatınızı öğrenebilirmiyim.

Dear Metehan,
We are back in Canada with wonderful memories of the time spent in Istanbul. We are really happy about our trip, the quality of the apartment and above all the quality of the contact we had with people like you there. We want to thank you many times for facilitating our stay. This trip will stay in our memory for ever. Everything has been just perfect and wonderful. Thanks again and take very good care,
Lucie and Michel.

Hi Metehan,
Thanks for organising the apartment for our stay. It was perfect for us and much better than staying in a hotel.
The view from the terrace was wonderful and it was great to meet up with you.
What a great service you are doing to the beautiful old buildings of Beyoglu, restoring them them so faithfully to their former glory.
Graham + Levent

After 10 wonderfull days in Istanbul we´re now back in Hamburg/Germany and want to say "thanks" for the great place! We stayed in the triplex apartment in Beyoglu ( Istanbul Eye ) and liked it at lot. We wish we had a home like this! It does exactly look as on the pictures on the websites (we couldn´t believe) and the view is from the rooftop terrace is even more magnificient than it can be conveyed in pictures. We enjoyed every morning a breakfast on the terrace. The flat is in a very good condition, everything in place and thought of (hairdryer, towels etc.etc.) - like in a good hotel . Moreover the location is perfect - a nice neighbourhood near Galata tower and walking distance to many sights (we often walked over to Sultanahmet, which is about 15 to 20 mins).
We hope that we can come back somewhen soon and get a chance to stay in this place again. Definitely a recommendation!
Petra & Werner

We cannot speak highly enough of our time in Istanbul,and the accommodation we had in the apartment found for us by Metehan.It was all that had been promised,and more.We were only sorry that it was not quite warm enough to use the roof terrace as the view was fantastic.We have promised ourselves another time.
Metehan and his team were of great support,before we arrived, Metehan putting up with and replying to endless anxious emails from us endeavouring to decide where we should and would be staying.And Metehan himself spent a precious night trying to sort out a munched card for us,which was resolved satisfactorily only because of his efforts.
We have left with great memories of the warm Turkish people we met,from the little grocery store we went to, by our apartment,the internet cafe, the little lunch places and Metehan and his team.
Tony and Sylvia

Dear Metehan,
after an unforgettable week in Istanbul we just feel obliged to thank you for making our stay a real fairytale!!!
The New Year of 2005 in Istanbul will always stay in our hearts where a great part of this is due to a fantastic accommodation we've had in one of your flats (triplex apt in Beyoglu)! The "cherry" on a cake is your very special treatment we've had from you as a landlord! This came far, far more than one can expect from a landlord. Furthermore we've gained a true friend and that's what makes the stay a special one.
Once again, our most sincere and cordial compliments.
Veljko, Dragan, Branko, Mirko and Predrag from Serbia

I highly recommend http://www.istanbulsweethome.com/flats/IE_general.shtml
through Metahan Ozkan. The flat is light and airy with fabulous views of the Golden Horn. The top floor is a terrace with magnificent views. We ate breakfast up there when the weather was warm, and watched the sunset almost every night. The two bedrooms were large, the bathroom completely modern. Even though the street is noisy, in the apartment it was completely quiet. It was wonderful to come back to after a day touring the sights. The location was great - 1 1/2 blocks from Istiklal. We would take the Tunel to Karakoy and either walk across the bridge, or take the Metro to all the tourist sites. We were close to the Jewish quarter, the hammam, and all the nightclubs. I was glad to leave the Sultanahmet at the end of the day - Istiklal was fun to walk around at night. Also, the building was on a residential street, so the kids would play soccer with the local kids in the street. It was definitely not touristy.

Metahan was great, he showed us around the neighborhood and gave us his number if we needed help. He arranged for drivers to pick us up, and for extra apartment cleaning. Before we arrived, I must have emailed him a million time with questions and he answered every one. We really liked having the extra room, and not having to order room service when we wanted a cup of tea. We took home freshly baked bread every day. The kids would pick out olives, cheese, yoghurt, fruit, nuts candies etc... at all the local food bazaars. And we didn't have to pack a lot of clothes because we cleaned them in the washer-dryer.

However, there are some drawbacks. You must be in good health - the streets are quite steep and the apartment is three very long flights up - no elevators. My 7 year old skipped up in a few minutes, but when we had to lug our rug purchase, it was quite a feat! And the street, while nice, is in the process of being gentrified - so construction of nearby buildings, no tourist or gift shops in sight, no taxis cruising by etc.. I personally liked that - and you are very close to a tourist area with all the amenities - but the first time we saw the neighborhood we were a little surprised. Also, I felt fairly safe at night.

Deborah