Couple goes for 5-year round-the-world tour

ANTALYA

A couple has set sail for a five-year round-the-world tour on their yacht with a special ceremony in the southern province of Antalya.

“This was my childhood dream,” Sezgin Tekin, a 63-year-old lawyer, told İhlas News Agency on June 16, just before the departure.

His wife, Betül Tekin, a 59-year-old retired teacher, will accompany him on this journey.

“I am a partner sharing his dreams. I hope we enjoy this trip and return home safely,” she said.

Ümit Üysal, the mayor of Antalya’s Muratpaşa district, held the ceremony for the couple. In his opening speech, the mayor noted: “We admire the couple. They are sailing with courage toward places their hearts will take.”

The mayor also called the journey an “example for the next generations.”

Photos were taken, hugs were shared and at the end of the ceremony, the couple left their slippers on the port, as a marine tradition referring to their departure and wish for their return.

The couple, then, shoved off on their 17-meter long yacht named “Kekova.”