After a long break from Couchsurfing, we are happy to be active again!

We are a family of four: Ahmet, Özge, Defne, and Selim. We first joined Couchsurfing about 10 years ago and, while living in Istanbul, we had the pleasure of hosting dozens of Couchsurfers from all around the world. It was a wonderful experience for us — sharing stories, cultures, meals, and laughter with people from different countries.

Now we live in a different city and would love to reconnect with the Couchsurfing community. We are happy to host travelers when possible and we also look forward to meeting local hosts when we travel to other countries.

As a family, we especially enjoy cultural exchange and showing our children how diverse and interesting the world is. Our home has a relaxed and friendly family atmosphere, and we believe it can be a particularly nice experience for travelers who are also traveling with children. Families are always very welcome here.

For us, Couchsurfing has always been about more than just a place to stay — it’s about human connection, cultural exchange, and creating meaningful memories.

We look forward to meeting kind and open-minded people, sharing tea, conversations, and travel stories together.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

We’re on Couchsurfing because, first of all, I (Özge) don’t enjoy hotels and want everyone to feel at home, not stuck in a room. Maybe it’s our Anatolian roots, but we truly love both hosting guests and being hosted ourselves. There’s something special about sharing big meals, laughter, and stories around the table — we want no one to ever have to eat alone.”

Interests

Travel and reading.

• culture
• reading
• traveling

Music, Movies, and Books

ı am (özge) really interested in literature, especially fantastic and science fiction. I am a fan of fairy tales, ı am trying to learn fairy tales as many as possible, ı am a big fan of İtalo Calvino. If you tell me a fairy tale from your country, it would be my pleasure :) ıf not, ı will tell you one from ours :)
I can speak non stop about Terry pratchett and Discworld.
Is there anybody, who is a fan of 'Doctor Who' like us?! we are not happy with the new doctor, we can speak about her.

Teach, Learn, Share

We can show around in Istanbul, we can share what we have. We like meeting new people.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Our home is in Gemlik, a small town between Bursa and Istanbul. The center of Bursa is about 25 km away and can be reached directly by public transportation.
We have extra sleeping space for a few guests, and we are happy to share whatever we have in our home. During weekdays we usually work, but we enjoy having dinner together and chatting in the evenings with our guests. Weekends are especially fun, as we love spending quality time with visitors.
If you are traveling with children, they will have playmates here!
And of course, we hope our cat Maya will like you too. 🐾
Staying with us means experiencing a relaxed family atmosphere where everyone feels welcome and at home”

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain, Thailand

Countries I’ve Lived In

Austria, Indonesia, Turkey