Johannesburg -
Imagine travelling the world, one country at a time, on a bicycle. Well, that is what Turkish travel blogger Gurkan Genc is doing.
Genc is in Pretoria this week on a four-month tour of South Africa before he moves on.
Most would think this was for a charitable organisation or to raise awareness for something, but Genc has his own reasons.
“God gave us only one life; we have once chance to do the things we want to do. So I chose to travel,” he says.
He began his world tour on February 9, 2012, and hasn’t looked back.
From the Turkish capital city of Ankara, Genc travelled to Bulgaria, Ukraine, Russia, Finland, Syria, Monaco, Morocco, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Tanzania, among others. All in all, he has travelled to 32 countries and cycled 4 500km.
“I do research and carefully select the cities and towns to visit. I go to schools and give talks.
“I research farming systems and education and share my travels on social media so others can experience my travels with me,” he says.
Not long after his travels began, he saw how popular his blog was becoming, so he decided to become a professional travel blogger.
“I am not a rich man. I don’t have the money to travel everywhere. However, businesses saw that my blog was getting a lot of followers and asked to advertise. I agreed and now for a fee they can advertise anything,” he said.
With the money from sponsorships and advertising, he is able to fulfil his dream.
Genc intends spending four months in South Africa and said in the two weeks he has been in the country, so far so good.
“I have heard about there being a lot of crime here, but I haven’t experienced it. I have been to Mafikeng, Lichtenburg and Koster. I didn’t have accommodation and I went to a police station and told them what I was doing and a woman offered to let me sleep in her house. The hospitality has been great.”
He says people often saw his bicycle and offered him free accommodation when they learnt what he was doing. However, it is not always a bed of roses.
“I cycle with bags of clothes and things like that, and therefore sometimes I do get mugged. I’ve also been run over. It’s not always fun.”
The 38-year-old says that by 2020, he will go back home and become a politician.
“I want to be the minister of sport and sponsor young female athletes who are talented but do not have the money to pursue their dream.”
He says his travels have taught him a lot through seeing the different ways people lived. His plan is to introduce those ideas to his people and make Turkey a better place.
He said Pretoria motorists are very caring and always keep a safe distance when he is cycling on the road. He enjoys the cycling culture the city has.
But Genc says that of all the countries he has visited, Japan was his favourite.
“People did not believe me when I said I planned to travel to Japan and cycle there. I did it and the people have such a different mentality. They respect life and nature.”
When he leaves Pretoria on Monday, he will head to Polokwane and the Kruger National Park before going to Mbombela.
He will then cycle to Swaziland, Durban, Lesotho, Port Elizabeth and lastly Cape Town.
“After that Africa is done for me. I will take a flight to South America and cycle there.”
Pretoria News Weekend