I don't think I am going to die in an Istanbul taxi. If after all these years I am still alive, then it has been ordained.

Driving to lunch, still in the middle of the forest and approaching a bend, my driver decides that this is a good time to check his phone messages.

When he veers on to the wrong side of the road and into oncoming traffic, I have the audacity to warn him. He manages to miss the on coming car by centimetres, and then almost annoyed, the driver tells me to calm down, everything is fine.

I know it wasn't only me that panicked - the lady we nearly crashed into was clearly screaming and her eyes were almost popping out of her head.

I think it's time I bought myself a vehicle in Istanbul and took my own life in my own hands. If anyone has a second had Abrams M1 Tank. I am a buyer.