Bankstown Sports’ Car Wash Manager Makes Motorcycle Journey to Honour ANZAC's

With the letters ‘Oz’ in his surname it was almost written from the beginning that Turkish-born Australian Ben Ozdemir would feel patriotic towards his adopted country.

So much so that the manager of Bankstown Sports’ ‘Club Carwash’ is about to fly the Australian flag on the back of his motorcycle when he makes a month-long, pilgrimage-like road trip through Turkey to mark this year’s Anzac Day. He arrived in Turkey on April 8 and will return to Sydney on May 9.

The 51 year-old arrived in Australia in 1976 and says he was immediately captivated by the history of the Anzacs and the battles between the Turks and the Allies at Gallipoli.

“It fascinated me obviously. Me being Turkish and now living in Australia,” Ben says. “But it was also that this war was like no other. The troops became friends at the end of it. Most wars end up with people hating each other.”

From the saddle of his bike he will take in the Gallipoli remembrance services on April 25 alongside the estimated 10,000 other Australians who make the pilgrimage to Turkey each year. He will also ride along the Black Sea coast road - from Istanbul to Georgia on the Russian border – a trip of 5000 kilometres.

“All I will have is my swag, my sleeping bag and my bike,” he says. “It is going to be a massive adventure.”

He has been planning the month-long trip for four years and is actually shipping his three-wheel motorbike with him. He reckons it will be the first NSW-registered vehicle to take to the streets of the exotic European nation.

“The Turkish Government allows foreign vehicles to come in as long as they are insured and registered and it was cheaper for me this way,” Ben says. “I’ll be flying the Australian and Bankstown Sports flags off the back of the bike with pride.

Ben still has family living in Turkey – including aunts, uncles and some cousins he has never met.

“This is a bit of a pilgrimage for me,” he says. “I haven’t been back to Turkey in 10 years and to mark this homecoming around Anzac Day and all that was sacrificed all those years ago feels very special.”

Bankstown Sport’s Assistant Secretary/Manager Mark Condi says: “Ben is a determined individual and we are very supportive of him on this personal quest. It is a great testament to both him and the affection he feels for his adopted homeland, that he is making this journey. It is good to see something positive arising from such a time of suffering for all those who went through the Great War.” 

Contact: Sue Nelson, Quick Thinking Communications, 0403 343 275, 02 9939 3555 or sue@qtcommunications.com.