Middle East - Anthony Ham [523]
Iraq is still a dangerous country and you should read our warning, Click here before considering visiting. The good news, if you decide to go for it, is that crossing the Turkey–Iraq border at Habur (Ibrahim Khalil border post) is surprisingly painless (see above). It can take less than an hour.
To get to nearby Silopi, catch one of the frequent buses from Mardin (Click here) or Diyarbakır (Click here) via Cizre. On the other side of the border, taxis wait to run you to the provincial capital, Dohuk (Click here), 90km southwest of Amadiya.
The Kurdish Regional Government issues its own tourist visa, which is good for travelling within Iraqi Kurdistan only. Citizens of most countries, including the USA, Australia and New Zealand as well the EU, are automatically issued a free, 10-day tourist visa at the point of entry. Extensions are available; Click here for more information.
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IRAN
There are regular buses from İstanbul and Ankara to Tabriz and Tehran. You may also want to consider taking a dolmuş from Doğubayazıt, 35km east of the border at Gürbulak, for about TL5, and then walking across the border. The crossing might take up to an hour. From Bazargan there are onward buses to Tabriz; from Sero there are buses to Orumiyeh. You can catch buses to Iran from Van.
By train, the Trans-Asya Ekspresi leaves İstanbul every Wednesday and arrives two nights later in Tehran (TL111.20), travelling via Ankara, Kayseri and Van before crossing the border at Kapikoi/Razi and stopping in Salmas, Tabriz and Zanjan. The journey involves a five-hour ferry crossing of Lake Van. See the Iranian Railways site, RAJA Passenger Train Co (www.rajatrains.com), for more information about this service and the train from Tehran to Damascus (Syria), which passes through Van and across the lake.
For more information about travel to Iran, Click here.
IRAQ
Crossing the Turkish–Iraqi border at Habur, 15km southeast of Silopi (reached by bus from Mardin or Diyarbakır via Cizre), is surprisingly straightforward and safe. At Silopi’s otogar, you’ll soon realise that the crossing is a well-organised business that’s in the hands of the local taxi mafia. For TL60 (or the equivalent in euros or US dollars), a taxi driver will handle all formalities up to the Iraqi border post. After the Turkish customs post, the taxi drives you to the Ibrahim Khalil border post (the Iraqi side; Click here), over the bridge on the Tigris. Here you might be asked where you are staying in Iraq – be honest and clear. It can help if you have an Iraqi contact. Then you can take one of the Iraqi (well, Kurdish) taxis that wait in a car park just outside customs, and head to nearby Zakho or the provincial capital, Dohuk.
Syria
There are eight border posts between Syria and Turkey, but the border at Reyhanlı/Bab al-Hawa is by far the most convenient, and therefore the busiest. Daily buses link Antakya in Turkey with the Syrian cities of Aleppo (Halab; TL6, four hours) and Damascus (TL11, eight hours). Also close to Antakya is the border post at Yayladağı, convenient for Lattakia (Syria). Other popular crossings to Syria include via Kilis, 65km south of Gaziantep; the Akçakale border, 54km south of Şanlıurfa; and the Nusaybin–Qamishle border 75km east of Mardin.
It’s possible to buy bus tickets direct from İstanbul to Aleppo or Damascus, with buses leaving daily. A better option is the very comfortable Toros Ekspresi train, which departs İstanbul on Sunday morning for Aleppo (TL101.20, 30 hours) via Adana, Konya and Eskişehir. Several comfortable trains link Aleppo and Damascus daily.
Sea
Turkey has passenger-ship connections with Greece, Italy and northern Cyprus. For details Click here.
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