Follow the Mommy

If travelling with children is an adventure, then taking them to a semi-exotic country like Turkey is a double dose of adventure. While we always felt completely safe no matter where we were or what time of day it was, we realized that the language difference was a concern with the kids. We had prepared ahead of time by putting our hotel information and our Ankara friend’s mobile phone number on wristbands on the kids in case they got lost only in Istanbul because it is so very crowded. Nevertheless, this was a very different place to get lost in than the mall. It was certainly helpful to have a leader who had been to Istanbul four times before and spoke the language reasonably well. I found myself giving the direction, “Follow Mom” as often as I breathed. It became almost a reflex for me since Mommy knew where she was going and could get directions most effectively if we ever lost our way.

This picture is taken when the mommy wasn't leading, but making sure that no one wondered into busy traffic along the Bosphorus sea wall. We had wondered down that way in order to enjoy a chocolate bisquit (cracker) and see the thousands of jelly fish in the water. There were also a dozen boys jumping into the water off the sea wall and swimming amongst the jelly fish and other things floating in the water. We were back to visiting mosques because everyone had pants on that day. The second picture was taken on the edge of the sea wall looking out across the sea of Marmaras and miraculously there wasn't a tanker sitting there or steaming through toward the Black Sea.