Which of us does not dream of getting in my car and going on a world tour or going through Africa for 6 months. Others make these dreams come true… Ali Eric those who make their dreams come true. He made his first long trip by himself, from Istanbul to Cape Town, which took 186 days. Tour Africa He described in his book. He set out saying a continent with four wheels.
Who is Ali Eric?
Born in 1959 in Ankara, Ali Eric started his own business in 1994. In 2001, she decided to reduce her responsibilities in her job and follow her dreams. He started to prepare for his first long-term trip since 2004, and on October 15, 2005, he embarked on a journey he called Tour Africa, which will take 6 months alone with his own vehicle, starting from Istanbul and ending in Cape Town. About 3 years after returning from this journey, he went on a world trip, this time, which will last for 3 years, again with his vehicle. He has another book of his second journey called A World Travel from Istanbul to Istanbul. I wanted to read his first journey first, but his first published book is actually the book about his world tour.
Ali Eric is married and has a son, so he went on these long journeys leaving his family behind.
About Tour Africa Book
Ali Eriç wrote the book Tur Afrika as a diary of his trip to the African continent. It has become a valuable guidebook for those who are considering going to Africa with their own vehicle.
As someone who has read many travel books, you can see my humble comments below:
- The Tour Africa book is not a literary book, it is a diary or even a guide. It is useful to read and evaluate it from this perspective.
- The biggest deficiency in the book is that it cannot convey emotions such as excitement, hopelessness and enthusiasm to the reader (me). Ali Eriç, who actually went through important ups and downs, such as theft, being turned away from the border gate, and thinking about ending the trip, told all these as if it were a very ordinary event. I felt his excitement on arrival in Cape Agulhas, his enthusiasm with the effect of reaching his goal more.
- Ali Eric described his experiences in great detail. When I closed the book, the stories that stuck in my mind the most were the stories of finding a hotel and choosing a hotel. I wish that the 6-month journey in a very difficult geography would leave more traces when I closed the book.
- What I love about the book is that there is a lot of information about Africa's recent history and sociological events. This information fed my “ready-loving” side very well, I don't know if everyone will taste the same.
I had a great revelation while reading this book. Even if the duration of the trip is 10 days or 6 months, if you have a time limit, you cannot see every place you want. I felt so sorry for the places that Ali Eric had to cancel because of the mishaps that happened to him, that I could not help but say to myself, "Extend your trip for 1 more month". Eriç, who set out on this road after a very long preparation process, would probably have extended his journey if he had the opportunity.
Another issue is that if you are going on a long journey, you will definitely get caught in a bad climate somewhere in the continent, it seems like there is no escape. Again, if you have time constraints, you do not have the luxury of waiting for the weather to clear.
Leaving your family behind and embarking on such a long journey, leaving everything behind and doing this in the 2000s… It was not easy to overcome this longing in those years, when internet and telephone access in Africa was not perfect even now.
Click to buy Tour Africa book.
Eric's other book is on my to-read list.
4 Comments
great article, thank you for your work
Thanks
” The Tour Africa book is not a literary book, but a diary, even a guide. It is useful to read and evaluate it from this perspective.” With your words, "The biggest shortcoming in the book is that he cannot convey the emotions such as excitement, hopelessness and enthusiasm to the reader (me)". In his interviews about his previous book, Ali Eric already states that he is not a writer, that his book is not literary, that he did not start his book adventure with the thought of "I will write a book", and that he compiled the notes he took during his journey as a book upon the appreciation of his articles on his blog. The diaries and notes that were not written for publication, on the contrary, give me the feeling that they were written more naturally and sincerely. There is no obligation to be literary or emotional just because the compiled articles are in book format. The city guide is also a book, but it does not have to worry about passing the excitement to the reader. The act of writing is a free act, it is the author's style and preference. How you wrote your opinion and opened a section for comments, I also commented on what you wrote, I hope you are open to criticism.
Hello,
This article is not a book introduction, it is my article to convey my feelings about the book. So it contains my personal comments. I make a comparison by reading many travel books.
Thanks for your comment.