British adventurer arrives in Istanbul after 26-year walk

ISTANBUL

A British adventurer has arrived in Istanbul after walking nearly 50,000 kilometers (31,065 miles) over the last 26 years as part of a decades-long journey which began in Chile and aims to demonstrate that intercontinental travel can be completed entirely on foot.

“I speak to people all the time who just tell me that Türkiye would be a fantastic country, so I never had any doubts that it wouldn't be. It was ingrained in me that Türkiye was going to be what it was, and it has been great,” Karl Bushby said.

Bushby, 56, set out in 1998 to become the first person to walk and swim across the Americas, Asia and Europe continents without using motorized transportation.

Starting in Chile, Bushby's journey included crossing the treacherous Darien Gap, a dense jungle between Colombia and Panama that is said to be impassable, which took nearly four years to complete.

In 2006, he walked across the frozen Bering Strait to Russia. Bushby was later detained in Russia for entering without proper travel documents, and he spent nearly two months in custody.

Despite the occasional brief flight due to visa issues, he always resumed his walk from the same spot where he had left off.

He continued through Mongolia and Central Asia until he reached the Caspian Sea, where he swam for part of the time and rested on a small boat.

He then walked through Georgia and into Türkiye, arriving in Istanbul's Üskudar district after a three-month journey across the country to finish the Asian leg of his adventure. He is now awaiting permission to enter Europe, either on foot and over the bridge or by swimming across the Bosphorus.

Describing his three-month journey in Türkiye so far, Bushby said he went “from the coast of Georgia down through Türkiye, and then along the coast all the way to [the Black Sea city of] Samsun, and then you come inland and then all the way here to Istanbul.”

Referring to the Turks' famous hospitality, Bushby said the people have made up for the long trek, emphasizing: “The people have been fantastic.”