Wandering through Istanbul with a Toddler, Istanbul, Turkey (B)

Within half an hour of arriving in Istanbul Wandering Kiwi Jr was being called princess and offered the hand of the waiter’s brother’s son in marriage. Indeed she was the key to getting to the heart of this ancient city, one of the many benefits of travel with children.

She loved the thick carpet in the Blue Mosque, lying on her back and gazing up at the lights and beautiful tiles. A few hundred metres away in the ancient Aya Sofya she scuttled around on the smooth stone floors and climbed up and down a hundreds-of-years-old wooden platform while we admired the awe-inspiring frescoes under the mighty dome.

Istanbullus are justly proud of their city. The Byzantines called it “the city of the world’s desire” and it is certainly true that almost everyone over the centuries has wanted to conquer it. You can hardly walk down a street in Sultanhamet without falling over some Byzantine or Ottoman relic but there is more to Istanbul than antiquity. It is a mighty metropolis with a youthful population that still straddles the meeting point of Europe and Asia. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).