Why Istanbul? 1001 reasons to visit Istanbul

I always have been interested in Istanbul because of its Eastern atmosphere but I never got as far as real visiting. It was too close for a long travel faraway, and too close for a cheap holiday not so far from home. By reading the book "My name is red" by Orhan Pamuk (and later on other books, like Elif Shafak, see books and links) my interest was re-awakened. It seemed a perfect goal for a short holiday during the may-vacation with our daughters (then just 12 and 14).
Istanbul is the East at short-distance: a lot to see and to do (for kids as well), a magical city with beautiful ancient buildings, just like a fairytale but only a few hours by plane (i.e. from the Netherlands) . Not too far and not too close either.

We heard some negative reports about the city. Like it could be chaotic, littered and crowded. This was mainly experienced by people who went there decades ago in their youth, on a hot railtour in summer. We only visited a small part of Istanbul but we thought it quite tidy (at least as tidy as European capitals like Paris or Athens) and the atmosphere was very friendly and laid-back.
The broken sidewalks and unscrupulous drivers that we were told to heed we have not met. We walked a lot and it was good walking in Istanbul. Just at underground passes like at Eminönu it was, especially on the sunday, quite crowded.
For the rest people were ever so friendly and helpful. We were not bothered by intrusive souvenirsellers. Though at the restaurants the staff can be a bit pushy to attract clients. This was the only thing that bothered the kids (but not much).

Maybe the time of the year was at least partly due to the pleasant atmosphere. We visited at the beginning of may and the weather was wonderful: sunny but not hot (like it can be in summer) but not too cold either (friends of us had quite a cold stay in Istanbul some years earlier, also in may). This kind of wheather makes every place a nicer place to be.

Istanbul really is a nice place for children: the Topkapipalace, the Grand Bazaar, the Blue Mosque, the Basilica Cistern, the Galata Tower, the cruise on the Bosporus, shopping in Istiklal Caddesi, the Yedikule Fortress are as appealing to (older) children as they are to grown-ups. There are a lot of different things to see as well as do for anybody in Istanbul anyway, it never gets boring.
Eva (12) was worried before we went because of (a) earthquakes and (b) plane crashing (a Turkish Airlines plane crashed in the Netherlands not so long ago). We could comvince her not to worry: the chance for either to happen is a very small chance in the end.
We also heard from friends that had their visit to Istanbul spoilt by stomach trouble because of the food. Maybe we were just lucky but we had nice food all the time and would love to return to Istanbul for the food alone.

In short: We had a great holiday in Istanbul. The city was a pleasant and easily accessible mix of the East and the West. A nice way to get to know the Middle East.
Happily a lot remains to be seen for us (we missed the yalis for instance(!), we would love to redo the Bosporuscruise anyway, including Sadberk Hanim museum and climbing Rumeli Hisari, more Spice Bazaar and Around, the Jewish synagogues in the South of Beyoglu, dervishes, parks with pavilions like Yildiz, the Beyazitmosque, Nisantasi, enz)........ so we hope to return some day!