Bahcesehir is located on the western suburbs of the European side of Istanbul in between Buyukcekmece and Kucukcekmece lakes on the shores of the sea of Marmara. It is located 35kms from Taksim, Istanbul and 18kms from Istanbul Ataturk Airport. On a good day and with average traffic, Bahcesehir is just under one hour to drive from Taksim and approximately 15-20 minutes from the airport. Having said that Istanbul's traffic is notoriously haphazard at times and i would advise you to check road traffic before you set off to drive to that all-important dinner party from my home in Bahcesehir to downtown. On a bad day, this route that should normally take about an hour could double itself due to intense traffic.