Turkish academic revs up motorcycle for Africa tour

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) - Turkish academic Asil Ozbay has kicked off a tour of Africa on her motorbike, starting with the East African nation of Kenya.

Ozbay plans on touring as many African countries as she can over the next year. In an interview with Anadolu Agency on Monday, she said that so far in Kenya, she has experienced different cultures and that above all the country's people have been "welcoming and accommodating."

A lecturer at Istanbul Gedik University's Faculty of Sports, Ozbay said that in Kenya, people are "so peaceful, so happy, and already I have made many Kenyan friends."

She says that her motorcycle is her "darling" and that she will use it to traverse the continent which is foreign to her, apart from Morocco which she visited before in her previous travels. Kenya is her second African country to tour or set foot in.

Ozbay added that she plans to document and learn about the different tribes, cultures and ways of living across Africa.

"On the other hand, as a woman I'd like to encourage and inspire other women. I believe that Africa is portrayed differently in the world media, I'd like to show the different part of Africa, but objectively."

After Kenya, Ozbay plans to visit Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Tanzania, Mozambique and Zambia, said the globetrotting academic, who has travelled to over 40 countries.

"This experience, I'd want to do it in every African country."

Ozbay had previously made a 60-day journey of 15,200 kilometers (9,444 miles) to reach Khardung La, a mountain pass in India known as the top of the world, on her motorcycle, with the motto Freedom Suits Women.

She took another 60-day trip to Morocco, as well as tours to many other European countries last year.

She plans to cover approximately 30,000 km (18,641 mi) in one year, a trip that will involve her travelling to most sub-Saharan countries, including Ethiopia.