Longing for a rural idyll

“The train whistled, and chuffed out of the station. The children pressed their noses to the window and watched the dirty houses and the tall chimneys race by. How they hated the town! How lovely it would be to be in the clean country, with flowers growing everywhere, and birds singing in the hedges! ” 
― Enid Blyton

I'm aware that in past posts I have been rude about Istanbul drivers rushing down to Bodrum in summer, turning our roads into a traffic jam of inconsiderate manoeuvres and bad parking, but after spending 9 days in Şişli last month, I understand better the longing city dwellers must feel for a simpler life and their expectations of finding it further South.  I've lived in Turkey on and off for 35 years but 9 days in Istanbul made me feel like a complete foreigner and I was very glad to come back home to Bodrum.  I did manage to take time out from matters medical to take a walk along the Bosphorus at Bebek, where Istanbul life is lived at a slower pace (a lifestyle choice available to only those with very deep pockets)  and spied a sign that it is not only those on 4 wheels who long for a bit of the countryside.