I Am Woman, Hear My Bike Roar!

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Milliyet Newspaper, 4 June 2017)


Inspired by prison ladies, she living free for them.

Asil Özbay (32) an academician at Istanbul Gedik University, is touring
the world by herself on her motorcycle.  Özbay explained that "4 years
ago I was teaching chess at the Aliağa Women's Prisoni Izmir.  I taught
them chess and they taught me about life.  That's where I began to
establish my freedom.  With what I learned from the lives of the women
in prison, I found the courage to go out on my own. They inspired me."

In 2015 Özbay set out on her first solo motorcycle tour to Eastern Europe
and the Balkans with the slogan "Freedom Becomes a Woman".  She
toured Greece, Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia,
Slovenia, Austria, Italy and Bulgaria, sharing her experiences on social
media.


Tizi-n-Tichka pass, between Marrakkesh and Ouarzazate in Morocco.

In 2016, Özbay conquered one of the toughest roads of all, the Tizi
n'Tichka pass in Morocco by herself.  Her next trip will be to Japan
via 5 countries in Asia.  On 24 June, Özbay will begin her journey in
Georgia and continue on through Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and
China to Japan.  She explained that "along the 17,000 kilometer route
I'll touch the lives of women living in a little known geography.  I plan
to take photos of them on the steppes, grazing their animals, living in
their yurts and looking after their children.  Then I'll present an
exhibition of the photos to support organization that work for women's
rights."