Planning a Family Trip to Turkey - Turkey with Your Family: From Bustling Bazaars to Historic Sites - page 45

telephone, but cafés are generally
cheaper to use. Cafés and some
restaurants in larger cities are
also setting up WiFi access while
all the major Turkish airports
have WiFi.

city centres and tourist attrac-
tions, or in natural parks or in ski
areas, but also many that are not.
By asking you can make an
informed decision about what is
best for your family and their
preferred holiday activities.

ACCOMMODATION,
EATING OUT &
ENTERTAINMENT

Eating Out
Eating out in Turkey is very
much a family affair and dining
with children in a restaurant is
entirely acceptable. Restaurant
owners will be only too willing
to provide high chairs or cush-
ions so your tots can eat com-
fortably. If a high chair with a
harness is not available, a set of
reins could be used instead for
young babies.
Most restaurants will offer a
special children's menu, or at
least offer smaller portions of
dishes on the main menu.
Most menus will feature a
meze, a meal of 20 to 25 little
dishes of local delicacies, which
are brought to your table in a
steady stream. Many restaurants
will bring a tray of dishes to your
table for you to select what you
prefer. Typically, there will be dips
such as taramasalata, variations of
dolma (stuffed vine leaves), grilled
meat, especially chicken or lamb,
fish dishes, salads and cooked veg-
etables. The beauty of a meze is
that even if your children are fussy
eaters they are sure to find some-
thing that will suit their taste -
hopefully.
Other dishes on the menu are
likely to include soups made
with vegetables and yoghurt, in

Accommodation
Turkey has accommodation to
suit most travellers, from holiday
complexes with every amenity
for families to campsites and city
centre business hotels. Even the
latter, however, provide amenities
for children. In Turkey children
are welcomed more or less every-
where. Typically, hotels and com-
plexes will offer playgrounds and
children's clubs, private aqua-
parks, swimming pools specifi-
cally for children and tiny tots,
special menus in their restaurants
and safety and security amenities
like high chairs, cots, special chil-
dren's beds, balcony guards and
safety locks. Many provide a wel-
come pack of topics and crayons
too. Some of the larger hotels
have Internet connections, and
discos for older children and
teenagers, plus video hire serv-
ices. Always check with your
hotel about the facilities they
offer families before booking,
and whether they offer any spe-
cial price packages as some do.
Also check the location of your
hotel. There are very many hotels
and holiday complexes close to

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