Turkish traveler Mehmet Sendinç, who began his African journey in October 2025, says he has encountered a continent far beyond the cliches.
Born and raised in Istanbul but originally from Ordu, 37-year-old Sendinç has been traveling across Türkiye since 2015 and around the world since 2019.
He shares his adventures on his YouTube channel "Değişik Yollarda" (“On Different Roads”), which has nearly 500,000 subscribers. Over the years, he has explored more than 50 countries by hitchhiking or on foot and has been discovering Africa since October 2025.
Sendinç started his African tour in Morocco, visiting Mauritania and Senegal along the way. He plans to travel across all the West African countries along the Atlantic coast and conclude his journey in Nigeria.
An Anadolu Agency (AA) reporter met Sendinç in a fishing village near Dakar, Senegal, to hear about his road experiences and impressions of Africa so far.
Sendinç said he began traveling after a personal vow following an accident, revealing that he did not even have a passport until the age of 30. While working at a health care institution in 2015, he broke his leg and decided to start traveling.
“During the 40 days I was on medical leave, I came across young people traveling across Türkiye on very low budgets,” he recalled. “I promised myself that once my leg healed, I would start traveling. One day after my cast was removed, still limping, I hitchhiked from Istanbul to Fethiye. I pitched my first tent at the top of Butterfly Valley. Realizing that with the money I would spend in one day in Istanbul, I could witness one of my country’s most beautiful landscapes, I never stayed in one place again.”
Having visited all 81 provinces in Türkiye – including traveling to his military service by hitchhiking – Sendinç said he has spent most of his time abroad since beginning his world tour in Malaysia in January 2019, returning to Türkiye only for a few weeks each year.
Sendinç noted that he initially chose hitchhiking for financial reasons, but it later provided unique experiences.
“Even now, despite having a budget, I still travel by hitchhiking because it allows me to witness the goodwill of local people firsthand. It gives me a chance to understand a country and its society without filters,” he said.
Reflecting on his travels, Sendinç said he often encountered the generosity of Turkish people but highlighted Myanmar as particularly close to his heart.
“People in Myanmar are very poor, but living outside capitalist systems, they share whatever they have. While hitchhiking there, a 6-year-old boy gave me an apple, and later his sister and mother invited me to their home. Even without a shared language, I stayed with them,” he recalled. “I was so moved by their kindness that I used my first YouTube earnings to prepare a bag of gifts for each family member. I traveled three to four days by hitchhiking to return to them. I visited them again later, and they are now my Myanmar family.”
Sendinç said he has enjoyed discovering lesser-known cultures, particularly the Toraja tribe on Indonesia’s Sulawesi Island.
“Toraja people live with their dead rather than burying them immediately. They place the deceased in the most visible corner of their home and mummify them, believing that everyone remains alive until the Day of Judgment. They leave favorite foods for the deceased each morning. The dead remain in homes for two to three years, until the family can afford the buffalo sacrifices needed for a festive funeral. These rituals left a profound impression on me,” he said.
Sendinç emphasized that traveling through Africa shattered nearly every common stereotype.
“When people think of Africa, they imagine war, hunger, danger. There’s a notion that locals will attack white travelers. It was nothing like that. People, even if poor, invited me into their homes and offered to share clothes. Africa is not monolithic; not everyone struggles with poverty. Dakar, for instance, is modern and beautiful. I came expecting to stay a few days, but I ended up staying almost two months.”
Among his most memorable experiences in Senegal was the hospitality of Türkiye’s ambassador to Dakar, Nur Sağman.
“Being on the road for so long, you miss the warmth of family and a mother’s care. I was lucky, Ambassador Sağman welcomed me as her own child and helped with arrangements for the next countries I would visit. She personally showed why she is called ‘Mama Africa.’ Her care was both protective and nurturing,” he said.
Sendinç, who maintains his Turkish and Muslim identity while traveling, offered advice for prospective travelers.
“Your only fear should be yourself, not the place or the people you visit. I believe that a person with pure intentions will encounter goodness along the way. I’ve been in dangerous places and faced many challenges, but my path always crossed with good people. When you approach strangers with understanding rather than judgment, a genuine connection forms. Traveling is not as costly as people think. By sacrificing a bit of comfort, you can gain unforgettable experiences and explore new cultures with money you might spend in a single day in a big city.”
