Barkın Özdemir got the title of “the youngest Turk who stepped into seven continents” after his Antarctic trip. As a globetrotter, he continues to inspire especially the youth -but also everyone else- to take the control of their life into their hands…

“I would like to take a train from St. Petersburg to Moscow, and then hop on the Trans-Siberian Express to get to the Pacific coast, and then cross over to Japan by ferry. I would like to surf on Okinawa Island there.”

How old were you when you stepped on Antarctica?
I was 22 years old, three years ago.

How did you manage to travel to six continents before? I guess, it is not all about money. You have to change your way of thinking and being…
I would never imagine things to come to this point. I believed that my trips would be limited to a few visits to Europe and a few more to the U.S. Things have started to change after I entered college. That was when I started taking the control of my life and put travel in the middle of it. I was actually living to travel. When I was about to buy something -be it a mobile, clothes or a drink at a bar- I used to start thinking: “If I don’t buy this, I could save money and go on my next trip.” In Turkey, the state supports students with a credit system, making them monthly payments during the years they study. I was getting my loans, and working at the university at the same time. At the beginning of each month, I was giving one of these payments directly to my mother and she used to convert them into Euros and accumulate. After eight months of saving, I went on an Interrail during the summer break.

At what point did your family start saying, “Should this kid stand still a bit?”
When I decided of taking a year off from school… I am lucky with my family, by the way. They have always supported me and welcomed my travels enthusiastically. But at that point, they said: “What do you think you are doing? You can travel as you wish, after you finish school!” I am the son of a retired military officer and a mother who devoted her life to her child. They were the kind of people most difficult to persuade. Being an only child did not help it either. When I went to South America, my father sent me crime index reports every single day!

How much did you spend a day, on your travels?
It varied a lot, but my budget for South America was between $10-15. At that time, this amounted to 30-35 TRY. I had a very tight budget. If I didn’t get full at lunch, I would never get another plate. I had lost weight. After the 25th-26th of each month, I was having a hard time financially. During my stay in the U.S., I had realized how valuable 25 cents could be. I used to save them, and they would amount to $30 at the end of the month, which was pretty good to me.

Let’s get back to your Antarctic journey… You set out with the money you collected through crowdfunding. Some supported you, and some hindered you during the process. It made me smile to learn that someone had actually opened a parallel project page on the same crowdfunding platform, just to make fun of your project. It went like this: “I want to be the youngest Turk to buy 2000 Gucci sweaters!” What was this Antarctic trip all about? Was it just a personal whim or ambition?
It all goes back to my childhood. When I learned to read and write, my aunt, who was a teacher, gave me a red-capped world atlas. It has always been my favorite book. I used to dream before going to bed at night; I would memorize the countries and their flags one by one. Back then, I wanted to be an archaeologist or an explorer. When I looked on the world map, Antarctica seemed as the most unexplored place on earth. At the end of my last trip to South America, when I was in Brazil, I said to myself: “Oh boy, you have miraculously traveled to six continents. Why not go a little further?” It was not easy to make that decision as a person who spent $10 a day, as Antarctica tours averaged around $10,000. Then I decided to try crowdfunding which was not very common in Turkey. “What would I lose?” I said. In the worst-case scenario, I would have to accept the failure. It was one of the most interesting periods of my life. On the one hand, people I didn’t know gave me incredible support. Some of my acquaintances, on the other hand, told me: “Hey bro, are you a beggar?” Actually, the amount donated is not the issue here. The important thing is that people share your dream. They could give any amount between 20 – 5,000 TRY. The goal was to touch more hearts. Instead of getting 20,000 TRY from one person, I aimed at getting 1 TRY from 20,000 people. I felt that I would have more “dream partners” that way. We had 60 days, but collected all the money in 21 days.

So, in what way did your supporters benefit from this project? Was it just to make Barkın happy, or help a young person realize his dream? There must be something beyond that.
Exactly! Although the focus of crowdfunding seems to be personal, you should be able to answer how you will contribute to society once you realize your dream. I stated three reasons in my announcement. First of all, I wanted to hearten the Turkish youth by visiting the world’s most extreme destination and say: “Travel is not luxury! You can travel by creating your own opportunities.” Secondly, I wanted to send a serious message against global warming. Thirdly, I was going to have the title of “the youngest Turk to set foot on all seven continents”. The first two were goals with a social cause. Currently, I still continue giving speeches to inspire young people in different parts of Turkey, as well as of the world. I encourage them to make their own discoveries. Before Corona, I was getting several messages via Instagram: “I have convinced my family to join the Erasmus program. Finally, I issued a passport and I am on my way to Serbia right now.” It’s such a beautiful thing!

You went to Antarctica on a 20-day cruise. Meanwhile, you also published a book titled “Antarctica Belongs to Nobody, but Everybody”. You have blended your travel diary with engaging stories and information that not many know about the continent. Why did you name your book as it is?
Three years ago, there were hardly any resources about Antarctica in Turkish. Nasuh Mahruki had written a few pages about its history. The number of resources has increased ever since, as TÜBİTAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) has been making scientific expeditions to the continent for the last three years. People always think that parts of Antarctica belong to England, Chile and Argentina. That’s far from the truth! During the Cold War, there was an escalation of conflict between the U.S. and Russia over the control of Antarctica. In fact, mines were laid around some islands of Antarctica. Then, something unexpected happened and the countries united against the threat of war, signing an agreement on December 1, 1959. In fact, that day is still celebrated as “Antarctica Day”. It was decided that Antarctica would not belong to anyone and would be open to the world for scientific research and touristic excursions.

How would one get to Antarctica?
The majority of people board on ships departing from Ushuaia in Argentina. You reach Antarctica after passing the Drake Passage -one of the roughest seas around the world, since it is located where three oceans converge. Crossing the strait takes about three days.

You went on a 20-day cruise. How was the vibe on the ship? It probably didn’t have anything to do with other luxury cruises…
Partially yes and partially no. Ours was an old Russian scientific research ship. You could tell it, when you looked at it. After leaving Ushuaia, we headed to South Georgia Island and then to Antarctica. The ship was not posh at all, but there was a selection of three menus at each meal. Although it sounds tragicomic, we ate duck meat, or threw a barbecue party as well (inside the ship, of course, never outside!). A wide selection of alcoholic beverages was offered at the bar. Besides that, I stayed on the bunk bed. Of course, there were more luxurious room options according to your budget as well.