A SULTAN´S BED IN ISTANBUL

Wake up to colorful Turkish textiles not only covering your bed, but also forming a luxurious canopy over your "sultan´s bed." The clean, modern room is furnished in the 18th century Ottoman style. You open the window to hear the dueling muezzins from the neighboring Blue Mosque and the other mosques of the Sultanahmet district, and see the colorful markets on the street below. As you climb the steps to the outside rooftop terrace decorated with bougainvillea and jasmine, you get a view of the sparkling Sea of Marmara on your left and the Blue Mosque on your right.
This is the scene at The Sultan´s Inn and the new Naz Wooden House Inn, two intimate, moderately priced hotels in Istanbul´s Sultanahmet district run by Fatih Sapci. I stayed more than a month at the Sultan´s Inn (including during Sept. 11) and from the first day was treated as part of the family.
Fatih also owns a travel agency that provides outstanding and fairly priced tours throughout Turkey, so your every need as a tourist can be taken care of while you´re having breakfast.
I highly recommend Sultan´s Inn and its "cousin" a block or two away - the newly opened Naz Wooden House Inn, which is a replica of the famous Ottoman wooden houses and is built against the old walls of Istanbul, close to the Topkapi Palace and other important sights.