São Paulo – On October 20th, the Brazilian Raphael Karan is going to leave for another of his motorcycle adventures around the world. This time, his destination is the Middle East. Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Israel are part of the adventurer’s three-month route. His luggage includes a tent, clothes, a sleeping bag, a gasoline stove and food.
This will not be the first time that Karan travels to Arab countries. The Brazilian has already been to Morocco and Mauritania when he took a tour of the African continent. The Arab nations were part of Projeto 5 Continentes (“5 Continents Project”) elaborated by Karan, who travelled to 54 countries on a motorcycle over the course of eight years. He covered a total of 164,000 kilometres. “It was the fulfilment of a dream,” said the adventurer, who obtained sponsorship from motorcycle companies and even an airline.
The trip to the Middle East is part of a new phase. A son to Lebanese parents, Karan, was always very sympathetic towards the Arab people, so much so that he decided to take a master’s course at the University of São Paulo (USP) on the conflicts in the region. “I am going to make use of the trip to do some interviews and start collecting data,” said he, who is going to bring along a recording camera and a photographic camera.
The Brazilian’s idea is to arrive in Egypt and then purchase a bike. According to him, the cost of shipping a motorbike to the country is too high and would not be worthwhile, given that the idea is to spend the least possible. On his last few trips, Karan was sponsored by a logistics company, but this time he was only given a free ticket.
According to him, one of the differentials in his motorcycle trips is human contact with local people, because in between one stop and another, Karan assembles his tent and camps near the homes of inhabitants that he ends up meeting along the way. “The coolest thing is to go from point A to point B passing through small cities that are usually not visited by tourists and make friends with the locals,” said he, who also claimed that this is a unique experience.
Aside from human contact, the landscape of certain places that Karan visited has left their mark, such as the Sahara desert sky. “I used to dream of seeing the Sahara sky. It is extremely clear and filled with stars. The sun setting on the horizon is beautiful,” he stated. The adventurer’s experiences may be read in several articles that he wrote for motorcycling magazines and on his website (www.raphaelkaran.com.br).
Lectures
A company manager, former shopping centre executive and journalist, Raphael Karan currently dedicates himself to giving motivational lectures at companies and universities. From 2004 to 2006, he travelled to 150 cities in 11 different states of Brazil, where he would collect food for beneficent organisations in exchange for lectures about his experience. “My dream has become my profession,” he said.
Preently, Karan plans to organise travel routes for motorcycle drives and provide consultancy services in the field of international motorcycle tourism.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
