Looking for forum member XN

Hey XN I saw your reply to my post regarding living in turkey... am really sorry i have been out and just got back.. let me knw when you have time and we can get talking :) Hi Njj! Are you still in Istanbul? In Gokturk area? I am moving there soon! I would be grateful for your peace of advice about the area.

Guess I got you earlier than usual njj :) Tarabya is a very nice place, hope you enjoy it. Sorry that I don't know any maids who can work for you:( As I've always worked with locals. Try the agencies but still can't name any. Happy for you that you're expecting number 2:) My gynae was in Acibadem too. His name is Ibrahim Bildirici. He's very famous with his easing style and gave birth to the babies of a lot of my friends + some celebrities in Turkey too. Must go places: Gazebo Restaurant : one of my favs, dinner, afternoon tea Nusret: Best steakhouse in town, expensive but an experience Iskele Bebek: Fish Restaurant, fancy and touristic fish restaurant Revma: Where we always go, fish restaurant Incirli Saraphane: Vine House, just perfect Su Ada: Pick one of the restaurants, it is a good experience specially for dinner Kosebasi: The most known kebab restaurant, won't cost you a fortune, pick the one at Levent Lokma: Breakfast is very very important in Turkey, don't miss this one. Big Chef's Tarabya: International cusine, good for casual eating outs. Make sure that you've reservation for all of these. For grocery use MacroCenter. It is like Waitrose of Turkey. For food color, I've no idea, sorry for that. For online shopping: We used to use DHL for shipping. And Amazon also has shipping operations for some items. You can also try local online stores I'll give you the most reliable ones: Markafoni.com (the best) Morhipo.com trendyol.com Lidyana.com For home related shopping: evmanya.com nuev.com altincicadde.com perabulvari.com Online shopping is better than here in Dubai. Hands on shopping: Clothing: Vakko, Beymen, Network, Yargici, Hotic, Matras, Mavi Jeans are some of my favs. -You can find them all in Istinye Park Mall. Mudo is fair enough, too. Home: Pasabahce -the best for glassware-, Madame Coco, English Home, Linens I used a lot Furniture: Yatas, Koleksiyon, Lazzoni, Mudo Concept -Mudo has a huge store in Maslak, very close to you- we used a lot! In case you see any of these brands in one of the online shopping stores that I mentioned above, you can go for them. Jewellery: Atelye79 , ask for Eleni she is my friend and tell her about me, she will take care of you very well. Fruits and Vegetables: Just go to the closest bazaar:) don't buy it from super markets. Hope that helps. Love xN edited by xN on 06/04/2015 Hi xN! I am also looking for you :) Moving to Gokturk soon! how can I get in touch? Thank you!

Guess I got you earlier than usual njj :) Tarabya is a very nice place, hope you enjoy it. Sorry that I don't know any maids who can work for you:( As I've always worked with locals. Try the agencies but still can't name any. Happy for you that you're expecting number 2:) My gynae was in Acibadem too. His name is Ibrahim Bildirici. He's very famous with his easing style and gave birth to the babies of a lot of my friends + some celebrities in Turkey too. Must go places: Gazebo Restaurant : one of my favs, dinner, afternoon tea Nusret: Best steakhouse in town, expensive but an experience Iskele Bebek: Fish Restaurant, fancy and touristic fish restaurant Revma: Where we always go, fish restaurant Incirli Saraphane: Vine House, just perfect Su Ada: Pick one of the restaurants, it is a good experience specially for dinner Kosebasi: The most known kebab restaurant, won't cost you a fortune, pick the one at Levent Lokma: Breakfast is very very important in Turkey, don't miss this one. Big Chef's Tarabya: International cusine, good for casual eating outs. Make sure that you've reservation for all of these. For grocery use MacroCenter. It is like Waitrose of Turkey. For food color, I've no idea, sorry for that. For online shopping: We used to use DHL for shipping. And Amazon also has shipping operations for some items. You can also try local online stores I'll give you the most reliable ones: Markafoni.com (the best) Morhipo.com trendyol.com Lidyana.com For home related shopping: evmanya.com nuev.com altincicadde.com perabulvari.com Online shopping is better than here in Dubai. Hands on shopping: Clothing: Vakko, Beymen, Network, Yargici, Hotic, Matras, Mavi Jeans are some of my favs. -You can find them all in Istinye Park Mall. Mudo is fair enough, too. Home: Pasabahce -the best for glassware-, Madame Coco, English Home, Linens I used a lot Furniture: Yatas, Koleksiyon, Lazzoni, Mudo Concept -Mudo has a huge store in Maslak, very close to you- we used a lot! In case you see any of these brands in one of the online shopping stores that I mentioned above, you can go for them. Jewellery: Atelye79 , ask for Eleni she is my friend and tell her about me, she will take care of you very well. Fruits and Vegetables: Just go to the closest bazaar:) don't buy it from super markets. Hope that helps. Love xN <em>edited by xN on 06/04/2015</em>

Hi njj, I am sorry that we've missed each other again.. Will answer your questions though, hope they would be helpful still. Zekeriyakoy is a good place to live, I would suggest you to check Gokturk as well. It is more developed and you will find much more thing to do around. -that was the place we used to live and we loved it!- For both accommodation areas, make sure you have a strong car as in winter those two are getting into serious tough weather conditions cause they are quite close to one of the biggest forest area of Istanbul -snow, roads getting icy, heavy rains..-, even for 15-20 days in a year, I can tell that it is worth it! I would suggest you to live in a gated community, it is not like living in Dubai, at least we used to live like that. Having maid rooms are not so common, limited with in a few gated community areas, check for Kemer Country -in Gokturk again- or rent an apt - villa with one more additional bedroom than you need just for yourself. Use sahibinden.com for house hunting. Or I can advice you to use our real estate agent, World of Kemer, worldofkemer.com, find Dilek Hanim there and let me know if you get in touch with her. I can call her personally so that she will take care of you differently:) we've sold one and rented one apt with her services. Professional lady. I can suggest 2 hospitals, 1 American hospital at Nisantasi, 2. Acibadem Maslak Hospital -which has a branch in Gokturk as well- Sorry no idea about your maids visa as my experiences are with always local people. Hope that helps, Good luck!

Hi Njj, What a pity that we can't get to catch each other.. I just saw your post sorry for being that late to reply. Post your questions in the forum, I'll keep checking and answering all of your questions. I won't be available to attend this weeks EW coffee morning at Emirates Golf Club, but if it is OK for you we can meet there on the 11th. Let me know.. Wishing you good luck with the move! <em>edited by xN on 03/12/2014</em>