The guest of Traveler Interviews for June 2020 is Ahmet Buğra Tokmakoğlu, whom many of you know because of his blog named Keşfetsek. Buğra, who started to earn his living as a blogger at a young age, has a story that will inspire many young people. In addition to his blog writing, you may know him through his travel articles in the Ege Telegraf newspaper.
We talked with Buğra about how he started traveling, how his blog Kesfetsek.com came about, the places he loves and many more.
First, can you briefly tell us about yourself, who is Ahmet Buğra Tokmakoğlu and what does he do?
Ahmet Buğra Tokmakoğlu was born on April 20, 1989 in İzmir. After graduating from Ege University, Faculty of Communication, Department of Journalism in 2011, he worked as a reporter, editor and news director in different press organizations in Izmir.
She quit her job as a journalist in 2016 and started working as a full-time blogger. He still writes regularly for Ege Telegraf, a local newspaper based in Izmir, but his passion for travel and travel writing is his only regular income.
How did this love of traveling begin? What does traveling mean to you? What is the motivation that drives you?
Traveling is a 'love' that I have seen and learned from my family since my childhood. At a young age, I got to know Turkey through family trips, mainly by car, to different parts of Turkey. My trip to Belgium at the age of 17 when I was in university preparatory class made me discover that there are hundreds of different places to visit and see in the world.
Apart from traveling and seeing new places, my biggest motivation is to touch lives in different parts of the world, to get to know local cultures, and to eliminate prejudices. It is an elusive feeling to witness how people live, what they eat and drink, the buildings, museums and social life that are the heritage of humanity in the geography they live in.
How did your travel blog Discovery come about? Why and how did you start blogging?
Since I studied journalism, I am familiar with writing. I think that I am successful in making observation and analysis as much as my pen is powerful. My blogging experience, which I started to write on all kinds of topics on the Milliyet Blog for the first time in 2007, was taken a step further in 2013 when I opened the blog called Instant Savings Total, which consists of the initials of my name and surname, with the help and support of my friend Alper Elbirler.
My blog, where I mainly share moments, memories and experiences from my travels, turned into Keşfetsek with the suggestion of Kemal Kaya, the founder of Yolda Olmak blog. Good thing it's transformed.
Among the places you have been to so far, what are the places that impressed you the most, what is your favorite place/places? Why?
This question is asked often and I always give the same answer. In order to distinguish a place from others, it is necessary to spend at least 2-3 weeks in that place and evaluate it accordingly. I think that we do not really know the places we see, as many people travel quickly and more focused on seeing places during their travels.
Among the places I have traveled and seen so far, Athens, the capital of Greece, has been engraved in my mind as a place where I can live with its social life, food, urban texture and historical atmosphere.
Berlin, the capital of Germany, with its colorful nightlife, and the city of San Francisco in the United States, with its climate and tolerant life, are places that I cannot forget. Rome and Amsterdam are also cities that I can visit many times in any way.
What has been the most interesting thing that has happened to you on your travels so far? Maybe you can tell a few stories to our readers.
It was sad to witness how the warm and sincere attitudes of the local people I encountered in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, suddenly changed when they learned that I was Turkish, especially the facial expression. You don't have to be political.
Sharm El Sheikh places to visit Check out my post too.
I was touched by the fact that the grandmother of a Greek friend of mine in Thessaloniki gave an allowance of 10 € and told the story of their migration from Ayvalık to Thessaloniki during the Population Exchange period.
My being defrauded by charlatans who play 'find the money' on the street in Paris, the extreme hospitality in Tehran, the thieves following me in the streets where I go out in fear due to thefts in Barcelona, the drunken hitting the car I'm in in San Antonio, Texas, Taksim Among the first things that come to my mind are the burning of someone passing by me in the square and finding the graves of my own relatives in Kos (Kos) Island, Greece, where my family originates from.
One of the most asked questions is, where does the water of the mill come from to travel so much?
There are many people in Turkey who want to finance their trip but whose main job is different. These people usually work all year, travel a few times a year, and try to deal with blogging as an amateur in some way.
I have been among the founders of a company that has been providing services in travel writing, social media management and content production since 2017. I can say that I am one of the few lucky people who do what I love and earn money from it.
Do you have any tips or suggestions for those who say they want to go away?
Travel is not as difficult as you fear. Even looking at a few Facebook groups and Instagram, you can come across hundreds of people traveling around the world. There is also a considerable audience that we have not seen but travel to very interesting places in the world.
When money comes from somewhere, you can get away from the excuse that my first job will be to go on a world tour and follow bloggers like us and take the first step in traveling, which can not be settled in your head.
Don't forget to follow Ahme Buğra Tokmakoğlu!
Instagram account if we discover: @interestsek Blog address if we discover: Kesfetsek.com
Finally, my classic question: “Does he who reads a lot or does he who travels a lot?”
The answer to this classic question will also be very classic. If we can bring together those who read a lot and those who travel a lot in the same place, I guess he will be the luckiest person. The pleasure and taste of seeing the things I read in my travels live is completely different. Also, having the pleasure of visiting many places, structures or museums that I thought I had seen superficially after the end of the trip and having the pleasure of visiting it is like travel.
I would like to thank Buğra for his sincere answers and his time, and wish him many readers and many good ways for his blog.
See you at the next traveler interview.