Mustafa Gül, a student of the Faculty of History and Political Sciences at Tomsk State University, has set out on a 6,500-kilometer bicycle tour to his hometown of Gaziantep, Turkey. This trip serves as a personal challenge for Mustafa and an opportunity to explore the largest country in the world, where he has been living for the past three years.
“It took me a long time to make the decision to start this tour,” Mustafa recalled. “Although I have been living in Russia for a while, I have only stayed in Tomsk. I have always wanted to explore more of this vast country and experience its diverse cities and people. This was the main motivation behind my tour.”
Tomsk State University has shown its support for Mustafa's journey. The TSU International Division, in collaboration with the Tomsk Region Administration, has sent information letters to the cities along Mustafa's route, offering assistance with accommodation and bicycle repairs. Additionally, Mustafa had been told about a student tourism program that allows him to stay in student housing complexes at other Russian universities. The TSU International Division has also helped with accommodation by directly contacting the universities.
“My route includes 18 cities. I am currently in the Urals and will then head to the Volga before reaching Vladikavkaz and eventually Georgia. From there, I will continue on to my hometown of Gaziantep in Turkey,” shared Mustafa.
Mustafa has already passed through Zlatoust and is currently on his way to Ufa. He plans to reach his hometown by the end of August. However, he does not plan to stop there. Next year, he intends to embark on a different route, starting from Murmansk and ending in Azerbaijan before reaching Gaziantep.
To see more, please join his telegram channel.