I have a lady staying here at the moment, she’s here to edit her book and she hasn’t bothered hiring a car and when she wants to go down to town in the evening she hops on a Dolmus.

When she returns from Kusadasi and gets off the dolmus in the centre of the village one of the elderly gentlemen whiling away the hours drinking cay in the tea shop will get up and escort her home to my house.

They never say anything to her; just beckon her and walk in front of her all the way to the gate, then with supreme dignity they bow and quietly go off into the night.

This is village life in Turkey – you are cared for.

• Tea House