He said: "Being together with my daughter and son for the first time in five years was an incredibly moving experience. It was overwhelmingly emotional to watch and experience. Initially shy, Dylan very quickly became inseparable from his big sister."
He said Dylan "adores" Gerry, a surgical veterinary nurse from Mt Albert.
Despite the setbacks, he said he never contemplated taking Dylan illegally back to New Zealand: "I know better than most the gut-wrenching devastation of having a child ripped out of my life and taken to a foreign culture on the other side of the world. I could not do that to anyone."
He said Dylan's mother took good care of him, but his opportunities in New Zealand were far greater. "In my five years coming here, I'm yet to see anywhere where a child can easily and regularly run in bare feet over grass or a sandy beach, breathe clean air, swim in the sea or river.
"It is a city fraught with dangers and, as a result, children are very cosseted and protected."
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokeswoman said the ministry had provided extensive and ongoing consular assistance to Laybourn since 2007.
"Unfortunately there are no further avenues available under international law, and Turkish domestic law applies."
