The WorldNomads.com 2011 Travel Writing Scholarship is sending one talented and lucky aspiring travel writer on assignment to Turkey. While in Turkey, the scholarship winner will embark on a 12-day Turkish Delight trip with BikeHike Adventures.
We caught up with Trish Sare, founder and Director of BikeHike Adventures, to find out a bit more about what to expect in Turkey and get the scoop on what adventures get her feet itching.
What sorts of companies do you work with on the ground in Turkey? How do you select your partners/in country guides?
We work with boutique hotels that have been in the families for generations. We have lunch in a family home where they cooked a meal for us and we are introduced to 3 generations of the family (grandmother, mother and daughter). This way our travelers can interact authentically and learn how life has changed over the years. Our guides are all local Turkish guides who know their countries intimately, speak Turkish and fluent English. They have long friendly relationships with many of the people in the villages, so can frequently get us invited along to special events, ie a village wedding. Our guides are active, outdoor adventure enthusiasts who can look at a hair pin trail on a mountain and say, I have to know where that goes. Adventure is their passion, not just a job. They are great communicators, epicurean chefs, trained in wilderness first aid, skilled bike mechanics, horseback gauchos who grew up raising horses, historians and sea kayak enthusiasts.
Why is adventure travel important, will it really save the world?
I hope that adventure travel will help to save the world. Adventure travel is important for so many reasons. From the travelers perspective, it is so thrilling to be on an adventure, doing something that might be a new activity that they are trying for the first time. The adrenaline rush and empowerment factor is what makes people feel alive, at least the active types that is. This If the traveler is out in the wilderness doing activity, they hopefully have a far greater appreciation for their natural environment and will hopefully do their part in preserving it as best as they can.
Adventure travel educates the local people that by not cutting down forests, poaching elephant tusks, sea turtles, birds nests, etc. they can instead become tour guides or drivers, taking people hiking through the rainforest, or on a wildlife safari or canoeing into caves to see the birds nests. Through education, the locals are learning that these natural resources can work to earn sustainable incomes for many years.
Overall, adventure travel is educational, puts travelers in touch with issues globally, directly, where they have the opportunities to help to make a difference if they choose to. Take for example Sr. Edmond Hilary, first an adventure traveler and then a philanthropist building schools and hospitals in Nepal.
This is a really great opportunity for us to be involved with two fabulous organizations (World Nomads and Rough Guides) collaborating on a contest that is innovative, exciting and is going to help one lucky person to follow their dream. This prize is going to really impact the winner's life and will hopefully lead his or her career path into the exciting world of adventure travel. If we can help to kick start someone's career into this world, it is a great honour. We've never participated in a contest like this, so it's been a lot of fun coming up with creative ideas on how to get the word out about the contest. It is also a great opportunity to tell our BikeHike story to the global community out there.
How do you think you will be able to help the scholarship winner grow into a successful writer?
I've spent many years backpacking and working my way around the world, traveling in the way that the winner will be traveling while doing his or her research. I'm constantly scouting new destinations for BikeHike, suppliers, hotels, restaurants and attractions and have a really in-depth understanding of the different types of travelers out there, and what their needs are. I'm more than happy to share my years of experience with the winner. One of the best ways I've discovered some of the hidden gems that we go to on our BikeHike Adventures was by being open and communicative to the people I've met on my travels. People are always excited to share their best and worst finds (boutique hotels, great restaurants, special people, the best place to go for a Turkish Bath, etc).
What is your favorite memory of Turkey? Why do you think people need to travel there NOW and not in 5 years?
On one of my scouting trips into the Taurus Mountains I was in a car with my local guide driving through a rugged and remote area. We encountered a semi-nomadic woman and her son walking with a lone sheep. There was absolutely nothing around us, for miles. The terrain was desolate, arid and dusty. We asked her if we could give them a lift, and of course she agreed. She put the sheep on the roof, her son in the backseat, and she stood on the windowsill of the passenger door, holding the sheep on the roof. She had the most colourful striped songs on and I snapped a photo of her colourful legs in the window.
Turns out that they had been walking for 4 days, looking for their lone sheep that had wandered off. They had no food, no water, and her son was mentally challenged. I remember thinking how easy life is for us compared to so many people on this planet.
Two hours later we arrived into her village, and were invited for tea. It was truly a memorable experience.
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Video FAQs: Travel Writing Scholarship 2011
For all of you aspiring creatives, check out our Scholarships page and sign up to hear about our latest opportunities, tips, advice and interviews with industry professionals in the fields of photography, travel writing and filmmaking.
And if you're lucky enough to be mentored by one of our industry professionals, it could kick start your career!
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