Half the fun of long-term travel is planning– planning which train to catch, city to visit, hostel to book, sight to see…. Unfortunately, sometimes plans don’t pan out.
To get from Istanbul to Cairo, we had always planned to travel overland across Turkey, Syria, and Jordan. This route was popular among hippies, and we were looking forward to seeing Palmyra and Damascus especially. The problem was always getting into Syria. Despite frosty diplomatic relations, Americans could usually obtain visas at the Antakya-Aleppo border crossing. You may have to wait for 5 hours, but you would eventually get in.
This is no longer the case. According to several sources, Syria just cracked down on this practice. Americans can no longer obtain a visa on arrival. Of course, this was always the official policy but now it’s actually being enforced. We might be able to get Syrian visas in Ankara, but I think it’s unlikely. Plus, Ankara is out of our way. We will need a new plan.
Plan A:
1. Travel overland from Istanbul to Izmir
2. Fly from Izmir to Cyprus
3. Fly from Cyprus to Tel Aviv
4. Travel overland to Jerusalem
5. Attempt to cross into Jordan (tricky)
6. Travel south to Petra
7. Cross into Egypt at Aqaba
8. Travel across the Sinai Peninsula to Cairo
Pros: Interesting; unique; very memorable; get to see Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, and more of Egypt
Cons: Moderate risk of failure, potentially dangerous, Israeli passport stamp, border issues, cost, time (three weeks minimum)
I really like this itinerary. It would be great to see Jerusalem (not to mention the lox and bagels). I think time and cost are major obstacles though.
Plan B:
1. Fly from Istanbul to Cairo
2. Fly from Cairo to Amman
Pros: Cheap, safe, low risk of failure, fast
Cons: Kinda’ lame, no Jerusalem, more flying
I hate to say it, but I think we will probably go with the slightly lame Plan B. Otherwise, we would not reach Kathmandu until Thanksgiving. That would cut into our Asian itinerary too much. Maybe we’ll have time for Myanmar now…
Have you traveled from Istanbul to Cairo overland? Any tips?
From Nova Walsh:
Wow – complicated! I’m not sure what I’d do in your situation (although I will say that Asia is freaking awesome so maybe leaving extra time for it would be a good thing). Good luck whatever you decide to do – either way I can’t wait to read about it!
From Tracy:
Hi there! I recently stumbled on your blog and am looking forward to reading more! I’m sad for you that you will miss Syria, my husband and I were one of the “lucky” ones…we waited 10 hours for our Syrian visa last year. I also read about the new rules so you’re wise to plan ahead! We decided that if we couldn’t get in we would fly to Dubai and then over to Amman. We also entertained many of the other options you listed! If you find yourself with extra time in Asia please don’t miss Burma!
From Matt | YearAroundTheWorld:
Interesting! I was planning on a visit to Syria… I’ll have to do a bit more planning too.