Children in Istanbul

The children's programme in Istanbul rests on three different things. The first is the amusement park in the north-west of the city: roller coasters, water rides and an indoor zone that rescues the day in rain and in heat. The second is the aquarium at Florya by the Marmara Sea, where the display is built as a route through geography, from the Black Sea to ocean tunnels with sharks overhead; it is a short outing of a couple of hours.

The third is the set of the series Ertuğrul at Riva, about an hour from the centre. The village was built as a filming location and left standing whole: tents, a forge, stables, wooden structures you can walk through. To anyone who has not watched the series it still reads as a reconstruction of nomadic life; to those who have, it reads as recognition.

Standing apart is the trip to Lake Sapanca with the village of Maşukiye: fresh water ringed by wooded hills, trout farms along the streams and horse riding. It fills a full day. Practical notes: rides carry their own height limits, worth checking before you buy; Riva and Maşukiye are cooler than the city, and the eastbound road jams on Friday evenings and at weekends.