Thanks Jus! I have heard that there are sometimes some difficulties with beauracracy in Istanbul, either because they are inefficient, or because they require some kind of additional payment for things to get done. I was told of an instance somewhere in Turkey where the municipal surveyor required all the doors to be remade on a buildings because they failed to comply with size regulations or alternatively the builder could pay the surveyor some money and the matter could be a forgotten!! Are these kinds of difficulties a factor in obtaining legitimate planning consent in Istanbul???