Middle East - Anthony Ham [531]
Dead Sea (Click here) Leave your kids giggling at the buoyancy of it all – yes, even Dad floats!
Petra (Click here) If they’ve seen Indiana Jones, watch them go wide-eyed with recognition.
Aleppo (Click here) Labyrinthine souqs made for legends like Ali Baba and Aladdin.
Damascus (Click here) Some of the world’s friendliest people will make your kids feel part of the fun in the world’s oldest city.
Crac des Chevaliers (Syria; Click here) and Karak (Jordan; Click here) Castles replete with legends of kings and knights and damsels in distress.
İstanbul (Click here) A great place to make geography interesting by visiting two continents in one day.
Cappadocia (Click here) A fairytale landscape made for a child’s fertile imagination.
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The advantages of travelling with your kids are many. For a start, most people you’ll meet in the region come from large extended families, love kids and will make sure that your children are made to feel welcome. More than that, your chances of meeting locals (especially local families) is greatly enhanced – most kids are much better at connecting with locals and overcoming language difficulties than adults will ever be.
In the process of visiting the Middle East, you’ll also be giving your children a priceless gift. Unlike any vaguely news-savvy adult, most children have yet to have their perceptions of the Middle East distorted by stereotypes. Seeing for themselves just how friendly (and just like us) the people of the Middle East can be is a lesson that will last a lifetime.
Practicalities
If we’ve convinced you to bring your children with you, there are a few provisos that you should bear in mind. First, it’s a good idea to avoid travel in the summer as the extreme heat can be quite uncomfortable and energy sapping. If you’ll be travelling by taxi or minibus, you may consider bringing a child’s seat-belt adjuster as few such vehicles have child seats. As for hotels, you’ll almost certainly want something with a private bathroom and hot water, thereby precluding most budget accommodation.
Otherwise, disposable nappies, powdered milk, formula and bottled water are widely available throughout the region.
For more comprehensive advice on the dos and don’ts of taking the kids in your luggage, see Lonely Planet’s Travel with Children by Cathy Lanigan. For more details, turn to the Directory in each individual country chapter.
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CHILDREN’S BOOKS ABOUT THE MIDDLE EAST
The Thousand and One Nights (The Arabian Nights) – if you buy one book for your kids about the Middle East, make it this one, with a variety of editions to suit most ages.
The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq, by Jeanette Winter, recounts the true tale of Basra’s librarian who saved the library’s books in the aftermath of the American invasion (ages 4-8).
The Magic Apple: A Folktale from the Middle East, by Rob Cleveland, follows three boys’ journeys (complete with flying carpets) to fulfil their father’s last wish (ages 4-8).
Sitti’s Secrets, by Naomi Shihab Nye, is a heart-warming book that follows Mona as she returns to the Palestinian Territories (ages 4-8).
The Day of Ahmed’s Secret, by Florence H Parry, is a beautifully illustrated story of a young Cairo boy on the streets of this beguiling city (ages 6-9).
The Enchanted Storks: A Tale of Bagdad, by Aaron Shepard, has it all: a caliph who turns into a stork, a wicked magician and an enchanted princess (ages 6-10).
Sami and the Time of the Troubles, by Florence Parry Heide and Judith Heide Gilliland, brings a child’s hopes and an adult’s war together in Beirut (ages 9-12).
Samir and Yonatan, by Daniella Carmi, tells of an improbable friendship between two boys – one Israeli, the other Palestinian (ages 9-12).
A Handful of Stars, by Rafik Schami, is a coming-of-age novel about life for teenagers in modern Syria (ages 12+).
Children in the Muslim Middle East, by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea, is more for adults than kids, but what you’ll learn about the children of the region will be invaluable in introducing your children