Top Floor 3BR · Bosphorus & Palace View

A top-floor apartment in the building adjoining Sami Bey Apartmanı, built in the 1950s by my grandfather, Dr. Zülfü Sami Özgen, and the family's home for thirty years. It has since been fully refurbished — new kitchen and bathrooms, heating and air conditioning throughout.

At 120 m² it sits on the corner of the top floor, with windows on two sides: Dolmabahçe Mosque and the palace clock tower one way, the Bosphorus and the bridge the other. Four floors up, it has the widest outlook of any of our apartments. The dining table seats eight.

Three bedrooms sleep seven — a king in the master with a futon alongside for one more, and two queens, all with fresh linen, extra pillows and blankets and proper wardrobe space. The master and the blue room both look out to the sea; the blue room has French doors onto the view, though there's no balcony to step onto. The third bedroom faces the trees at the back and is the quietest in the flat. A sofa bed and a couch in the living room take two more, and we can add folding or inflatable mattresses beyond that. A baby cot and high chair are available on request.

Each bedroom has its own set of framed prints — Warhol in the yellow room, Lichtenstein in the blue, op art in the third.

Two bathrooms, both with walk-in showers and star-patterned floor tiles. There's central heating for the winter and split units in every room including the living room, which double as heaters on a cold night.

The kitchen is the best of our six — the only one with a full gas oven and range, plus a breakfast bar, dishwasher, microwave, fridge, Turkish and filter coffee, kettle, toaster, pots and pans, plates, cutlery and basic cooking ingredients to start you off. The washing machine and iron are in the kitchen, with spare towels.

On the ground floor, a large garden shared with the other residents — grass to lie on and mature trees for shade.

Getting up to us: we're on the fourth floor and there's no lift — 85 steps from the street. It's a proper climb, and it's also why this flat has the widest view in the building. Tuna or her husband Nesi will meet you at the street door.

A note on noise: we're on a lively stretch of waterfront and the road below carries traffic through the day, so the living room isn't silent. Being on the top floor helps, and the third bedroom is quieter still.

Parking: none private, but several options within a few minutes — paid street parking directly outside, a valet service 200 m along the road during working hours, the Dolmabahçe Palace car park almost opposite which usually has well over a hundred spaces free, and the new Kabataş Transfer Centre, which has its own car park.

Turkish law requires us to take a copy of every guest's passport or ID at check-in; a photo on your phone is fine. Cleaning during your stay can be arranged on request for a fee.

Tourism rental permit 34-0073.