Turkish couple sets sail for world tour with catamaran

ANTALYA

A Turkish couple has started a five-year-long world tour with their catamaran on April 10, with local officials bidding farewell to them in a small ceremony in the southern province of Antalya.

Özlem and Özkan Şahin got married in the province’s Finike district in 2014 and have been living in their catamaran since then.

Years ago, they had their first long journey during which they traveled all the Black Sea, the Aegean and the Mediterranean coasts from the northeastern province of Artvin to the southeastern province of Hatay.

“We have been working on this world tour for the last two years,” Özkan Şahin told Demirören News Agency.

“I am so excited; I have butterflies in my stomach,” said Özlem, his wife.

Within the scope of the tour program, they will keep sailing to the west.

“We aim to keep the Turkish flag flying across the globe during our tour,” the excited wife highlighted.

Mustafa Geyikçi, the mayor of Finike, who attended the farewell ceremony with a local coast guard commander, cut the ribbon and sent the couple to the open sea.

Due to a marine belief, the couple left their shoes at the port, saying that “one day, they will come back to Finike.”