Academic to go on Anatolia tour to inspire children

ISTANBUL

An academic will go on a tour of Anatolia on his motorcycle to inspire children and donate books to those in need.

Asil Özbay, an academic from Gedik University who took her motorcycle to the Khardung La hill in the Himalayas with the motto “freedom suits women” last year, decided to launch a campaign for children who had to stay at home for months during the pandemic. 

Özbay promoted her project with the motto “books are on the way” on social media accounts, adding that she will be riding her motorcycle eastwards from next week.

The academic will present travel- and freedom-themed books to children in villages and towns far from city centers, where she will give inspiring speeches.

Noting that the journeys she has made between countries and continents with her motorcycle for years have been more individual, Özbay said that this tour will be more “social” than the previous ones.

“My greatest source of motivation is to be able to inspire especially girls and women,” she said, stressing that she will tell them about her experiences as a woman who travels between continents.

Expressing that the mental and spiritual development of children is important and that the people they take as role models play a key role as they grow up, Özbay noted that she wants to convey messages of freedom to girls in particular.