Turkish globe-trotter a social media sensation

A Turkish globe-trotter dubbed “the youngest Turk to visit all seven continents” is drawing the attention of thousands of followers on social media.

Barkin Ozdemir, 23, a business administration student, has been sharing photos of himself doing things like hanging out with penguins in Antarctica, attracting legions of “likes.”

Ozdemir told Anadolu Agency that he first started traveling the world using education money but now funds his journeys though crowdfunding.

According to the young traveler, he was most impressed by Antarctica, the coldest continent on earth.

Speaking of his unique experiences at the bottom of the world, he said: “One day I encountered the world’s largest king penguin colony. I cried from happiness. I saw a leopard seal when it was going hunting and saw icebergs.”

Ozdemir also noted the big differences on the cold continent, such as very spotty telephone and Internet access and days that defy human patterns.

“It gets dark at 1.00 a.m. but when you get up at 4.00 a.m., it’s light. So you always need to look at your watch.”

“When you go somewhere, the travel doesn’t take hours but days. You may be in the middle of the sea for three days.”

It was for the first time that his mind was completely clear, said the young traveler.

“I didn’t put down my pen for three weeks. I wrote 250 pages. In the months to come I’ll turn the diaries I wrote into a novel,” he said.

Ozdemir also gave advice to people who want to see the globe for themselves, saying: “There’s no such thing as ‘never’."

“If you really want to do something, you can do it, but you need to be self-sacrificing because you’ll face tough trials, both materially and morally," he added.