This stylish yet homely apartment is on the 3rd floor of a historically grand 19th century building not far from Galata Tower. It's quiet, cosy, sunny & atmospheric. A few floors up on the roof-top, a shared terrace has views across the Golden Horn. The streets below are a characterful mix of cafe-restaurants, boutiques and residential apartment buildings. We also offer a selection of 'experiences' with our local guides, to help you build your own genuine and memorable perspective on the city. This is one of our sensitive restoration projects. Three flights of original marble stairs take you up to the apartment, which occupies the whole of the front of the building and gets lots of sun as a result. A few more floors up on the roof-top, a shared terrace has lovely views across the Golden Horn. You're welcome to take your drinks, meals or simply thoughts up there any time. The streets below the apartment are atmospheric with small, trendy boutiques and cafe-restaurants, yet are quiet and residential at night. Galata's pedestrianised area is just around the corner with its lively pavement cafes and restaurants plus all the buzz of this bohemian district. The apartment building is only 2 minutes walk from Sishane metro station, 1 minute walk from Tünel funicular and a downhill walk to connect with the tram for Sultanahmet. Famous Istiklal Avenue is less than 5 minutes walk up the hill. The bedrooms are both full of charm: one double and one twin, each with stylish velvet headboards and high quality crisp white linens. The kitchen is modern, chic and well-equipped, with high-end appliances including dish-washer. There's a separate small utility room with washing machine. The large and welcoming entrance hall includes a dining area and leads through double-doors into the living room which is spacious and comfortable. This bright room has a generous seating area with velvet-upholstered vintage sofa and armchairs. Four sash windows overlook the interesting and authentic streets below. The shower room is contemporary yet characterful with a smart rain shower. This apartment is 100m2 in total and well laid-out, with large windows, lovely high ceilings and frescoes. The exposed floorboards and wooden panelled doors are all original, giving a contemporary yet characterful, homely feel. The bedrooms comfortably accommodate four people and a fifth/child on a fold-out bed in the living room is possible. Guests will have the complete privacy of the entire apartment. The roof terrace, shared with all apartments in the building, is available for your careful use at any time. In the same building we also offer two additional apartments. The three, booked together, are suitable for a large group of up to 14 people. This is a small Turkish-British family project. Julia and Tarkan used to live in Istanbul then Singapore and are now balancing life between England and Istanbul. If we're in Istanbul during your stay we'd love to meet you. Your questions and booking will be handled by us wherever we are. When you arrive in Istanbul Tarkan’s wonderful family and/or our friendly team will welcome you to your apartment, give you the keys and explain about practicalities and the neighbourhoods. We’ll all help you as much as you need and we're always only a phone call or email away. Galata has a genuine, very welcoming and diverse community with an intriguing mix of cafes, restaurants, small grocery shops and artistic boutiques. Elegant 19th Century buildings line cobbled streets, with discoveries waiting around every corner. No matter where you wander, you’ll always find your way back to Galata Tower, which has been a well-loved landmark for the last 700 years. Metro, bus, tram and ferry stops are all only a few minutes walk away. The famous Istiklal Avenue is around 5 minutes stroll. You can be in Sultanahmet (for the big sights of Ayasofya, Topkapı, Blue Mosque etc.) in about 12 minutes by public transport or 20 minutes on foot. In the other direction, by Metro, you can be in Şişli (for Istanbul’s biggest shopping mall) in 10 minutes or Levent (for Istanbul’s business district) in 15 minutes. There are many taxi ranks around and some secure car parks too. Will your stay with us make a difference? We hope so… By self-catering right in the local community you’ll quickly become part of it, financially supporting small grocery shops and other family businesses. You’ll soon make relationships with these friendly people and develop a genuine understanding of the culture around you. We’re sure you’ll leave with special memories and more developed perspectives as a result of your encounters. For each confirmed booking we arrange a tree to be planted in Turkey (via TEMA) to offset part of the carbon dioxide emission from the resulting flight. We encourage you to plant more trees: easily arranged during online booking. We use local maintenance and cleaning services for the apartments and in this way we provide a good income for 2 families who lives nearby.We do everything we can to preserve all the original features and materials in the apartments. Where new materials are needed we source them locally, prioritising products that are designed and/or made in Turkey. Our apartments are uniquely situated amongst mosques, churches, synagogues, a mevlevi ‘whirling dervish’ hall and other sites of religious significance. We encourage guests to sense the history of religious tolerance and hopefully! to experience something of it themselves during their stay.