Porkflyer,
Renting a nice apartment is 1500-2500 liras (€550-800) in Istanbul. Renting something outside of the ghetto in London would probably cost way much more.
They've had a couple of increases in pay this year and making a salary of more then 16000 liras consistently is not unrealistic (€6000 net) for a first officer.
You could always goto Norwegian or Ryan and make half of that when everything is paid for the way it should. Living costs can be quite low if you import your own car and don't spend too much on women. So all in all, economically I would say that it is a competitive alternative in todays market.
The duty/rest-times are a joke and it's very hard work. Do not expect being able to go home for more than a couple of days every other month.