Middle East - Anthony Ham [551]
If you’re in a capital city, it’s usually worth buying your ticket through a reputable local travel agency or, increasingly, over the internet. It can give you all the available choices without having to visit several different airline offices, and the price will usually be the same, if not less.
Airlines in the Middle East
Until recently, most flights were operated by state airlines. Of these, when it comes to service, punctuality and safety, El Al (Israel), Royal Jordanian, Turkish Airlines and Middle East Airlines (Lebanon) are probably the pick of the bunch, while SyrianAir has a solid if unspectacular reputation. EgyptAir is probably best avoided.
The growth of private (usually low-cost) airlines, especially in Turkey and Israel, means that flying domestic routes within these countries has become a lot more feasible.
For a full list of airlines flying to and from the Middle East, Click here. Those that fly domestically within the Middle East:
Anadolujet (www.anadolujet.com) Low-cost Turkish domestic airline with an extensive network.
Arkia Israel Airlines ( 03-690 3712; www.arkia.co.il; Israel) Connects Tel Aviv, Eilat and Haifa.
Atlasjet (www.atlasjet.com) Domestic Turkish services.
Egypt Air Express (www.egyptair.com) Domestic Egyptian airline operated by Egypt Air.
Israir Airlines ( 516-593 1785; www.israirairlines.com; Israel) Connects Tel Aviv, Eilat and Haifa.
Onur Air (www.onurair.com.tr; Turkey) Extensive domestic flights within Turkey.
Pegasus Airlines (www.flypgs.com) Extensive domestic network within Turkey.
Sun Express (www.sunexpress.com) Turkish domestic routes.
Tarhan Tower Airlines (www.ttairlines.com) Turkish domestic flights.
Detailed information on many airlines’ safety records (including reams of statistics) can be found at www.airsafe.com/index.html.
Air Passes
Emirates (www.emirates.com) offers the ‘Arabian Airpass’ that allows cut-price travel around the Middle East. To qualify, you need to buy a flight to Dubai. Onward flight ‘coupons’ (a minimum of two, maximum of six) are then available to cities such as Cairo, Alexandria, Amman, Beirut or Damascus. The coupons are valid for three months from when the first coupon is redeemed. Prices are based upon zones, with the above cities coming within Zone C (except, for some reason, Alexandria, which is in the cheaper Zone B).
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BICYCLE
Although the numbers doing it are small, cycling round the Middle East is a viable proposition, provided that cyclists are self-sufficient and able to carry litres of extra water.
Most of the people we spoke to reckoned that the most enjoyable cycling was in Turkey and Syria (this is backed up by letters from readers). Although hilly, the scenery in Turkey is particularly fine and accommodation is fairly easy to come by, even in the smallest villages. This is definitely not the case elsewhere, and in Syria in particular you may have to spend the odd night in a tent. In Turkey, if you get tired of pedalling, it’s also no problem to have your bike transported in the luggage hold of the big modern buses.
One big plus about cycling through the region is the fact that cyclists are usually given fantastic welcomes (a trademark of the Middle East in any case) and are showered with food and drink. Cyclists in Syria frequently receive invitations from people along the way to come home, meet the family, eat and stay over. Even the police are helpful and friendly. There are a couple of exceptions, with isolated reports of kids throwing stones at cyclists (maybe because of the cycling shorts, we don’t know) along Jordan’s King’s Hwy and in Sinai. But these are minor blips of annoyance.
By far the major difficulty cited by all cyclists was the heat. This is at its worst from June to August, and cycling in these summer months is definitely not recommended. May to mid-June and September through October are the best times. Even then, you’re advised to make an early