Çocukla Geziyorum

In the introduction the author describes living since childhood with the question «What lies beyond the garden?»: neighbourhood mothers guarding their children from the author's «pied piper» influence, a spouse with a tireless love of driving, the decision after the first child never to have a second — and then the second son. When the couple once left the children with a nanny to travel, the nanny organised a «tour» of their flat for her own relatives. These funny, candid pages set the tone of the book: not a perfect parent, but one who makes mistakes and learns.

The Amsterdam section begins with preparation: tickets bought months in advance, a hotel, a plan for every day and an «emergency box» on the plane — a «bribe pack» full of the children's favourite sweets. During the meal service, fitting lids, cutlery wrappers and cups onto the tiny tray table turns into a «Rubik's cube». At the airport, while the parents struggle with the ticket machine, eight-year-old Çağan presses the buttons and completes the purchase. These small comic scenes will be familiar to anyone who has travelled with young children.

The book's most valuable page is the failed canal tour. The author expects the children to be enchanted by the boat, but they show interest only when it manoeuvres through tight bends; soon they are driving a toy car along the aisle and disturbing other passengers. The parents finish the tour with a child clamped under each arm. Hence the book's first «lesson»: «Do not expect your children to share your excitement about your own interests.» Afterwards the children finally enjoy themselves at a funfair by Dam Square, and a «picnic» in the hotel room becomes the trip's first celebration.

Rich information is one of the book's strengths. How the canals were dug in the seventeenth century, why the houses lean forward, scurvy aboard the replica of an East India Company ship, the difference between Edam and Gouda, cycling culture, the founding of Artis Zoo in 1838 with a few monkeys and parrots, the wooden houses of the Begijnhof that survived the fires — all explained in an easy style. As an urban planner the author reads the city's structure particularly well: «The Dutch live by constantly trying to tame the sea and trust their engineering.»

The most honest pages take place at the door of the Rijksmuseum. Three-and-a-half-year-old Caka refuses to go in; pleading and tricks fail, and the child tumbles out of the pushchair onto the ground, screaming. The embarrassed parents flee and wander aimlessly along the canals. Here the author also admits to a parent's «adult opportunism»: despite planning the trip for the children, there was a wish to squeeze in shops, a café and a museum. At the Madurodam miniature park Caka cries because the vehicles look like toys but cannot be played with — the same lesson again.

There are weaknesses. At Muiderslot Castle the author writes: «We Turks are certainly a warrior nation; we carry the war heritage of great Turkish civilisations in our genes»; Dutch cuisine also receives condescending remarks such as «it is not easy for a Turk to eat a badly made meal». In the description of the NEMO science museum «astrology» is written instead of «astronomy». Turkish characters are lost. Even so, this is one of the few sincere and useful Turkish travel books that show the real face of travelling with children.

• Humorous honesty that hides no failures
• A clear lesson for parents at the end of each day
• Light, interesting information on history, architecture and food