Amar Latif, who lost his sight aged 18, showed Pascoe around some of Turkey’s cultural highlights during Travelling Blind, which went out on BBC2 on Thursday night (March 7).
Together, the pair visited Istanbul’s historic markets and the landscapes of Cappadocia, demonstrating how travelling with a blind person can give sighted travellers a different take on the world.
“Travelling the world is something I have always wanted to do,” said Latif.
“Being blind once hindered that passion, but now I experience the world in such a unique way that even sighted travellers would enjoy it.
“Travelling with Sara and sharing my way of exploring was so much fun and I hope to have imparted some of my lust for adventure onto her.”
Latif set up Traveleyes in 2004 offering independent group travel for blind and sighted travellers and now operates more than 60 trips a year around the world.
Its trips pair adventurous blind travellers with solo sighted travellers, who then explore destinations together, the sighted partner describing the scenes before them to their travel partner.
In return for sharing their sight, sighted travellers’ holidays with Traveleyes are subsidised by the operator by up to 50%.
Traveleyes trips range from African safaris and mountain treks to Alpine skiing and European city breaks.
