Crossing the Middle East - the green way

Tom Hart (left) decided to follow his dream to travel in the footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia. Not the classic trip you see advertised in tour brochures, but the authentic way - overland through Egypt, Jordan and Syria then across Europe back to the UK. As he travels across the Middle East, he's reporting back to GreenTraveller on how he does it. Here's his last report: Crossing Turkey...

Across Turkey
I stayed one night in Antakya before getting on a long distance bus to Antalya at 4PM the next day for a gruelling 16 hour journey along the coast road. It was hour upon hour of winding roads going up and down which would have been beautiful during the day but I travelled in the dark for the majority of it. The trip cost me about £16 which is pretty good considering the distance.

The bus station in Antalya is a little bit out of the town so I took a taxi for about £5 into town to my hotel The Blue Sea Garden. I then realised there is a perfectly good bus that drops you off just outside the old quarter of town where the hotel was located, but you often only learn these things in retrospect.

The rooms at Blue Sea Garden were excellent, small but very clean, and the small pool was a luxury I was not used to. The location could not be faulted as a few metres away were cliff top views of the sea and the port. It was also on the side of town furthest away from the package holiday makers and the sky high hotels most often associated with Antalya and the kind of tourism I had made such effort to avoid. The small shops in this quiet part of town are perfect for a leisurely stroll and a bit of bargaining while watching the traditional gullets come in and out of the harbour.



After three nights in Antalya I made the choice to take a bus up the coast to the fabled Olympus which takes only a couple of hours and costs around £5. The bus drops passengers off at a restaurant at the side of the road to be taken down the steep dust path in a minibus to Olympus. The place itself is nothing more than a dust track of hostels and bars full of European and Australian backpackers. It was quite a bizarre place, good if you want to meet other backpackers, drink beer and not do very much but a culture shock to me who had come from Syria - not at all what I was looking for. The beach was fair walk away from the main hostels and on the way down you passed ancient relics of the pirate port this once was, however not many people seemed interested. The beach itself was extremely busy and unfortunately covered in litter. On the upside the seafood at the beach restaurants was excellent and the sea boasted some of the softed water I have ever felt. However I decided to leave the next morning after quickly realising this was not the place for me.

I took a bus back to Antalya and then a bus to Bodrum which took about 7 hours. Bodrum is similar to Antalya in its reputation as a package holiday resort but I soon knew it would be quite different as the drive there was a spectacular tour through mountains and along stunning isolated coast line. Bodrum was in part the family hotspot that I expected but had much more to offer than I realised with a beautiful harbour and a strong local culture. On the first night I arrived at 10pm and went to find some food. I stumbled across a fish shop where I found you could choose your fresh fish then have it cooked for you at the restaurant opposite. It was possibly the best meal I had tasted during the trip and the most enjoyable, sat among feasting local families and feeling the evening buzz around me. Bodrum has thin beaches lining the walkways where the sun loungers are free but the drinks are extortionate – and don’t accept the blag that you are welcome to sit and not buy a drink – you won’t get away with it! I had three nights in a random hotel with large pool but very basic rooms. It was perfectly acceptable for £12 per night B&B and right in the centre of town. No air-con or frills but you I don’t think you need it when there’s so much to explore.

I decided to hop on a bus to Efesus for a day walking around the infamous ruins there. The carvings in the stone were the most spectacular relics of a time forgotten. An interesting feature of these engravings was the mixture of different relgious symbolism, signifying atime when there was multi-religious influence on the same society. Although the ruins were spectacular they did not outshine those in Syria and Jordan, perhaps because Efesus felt quite like a museum. After a long day I decided to experience a Turkish bath to freshen up. It was wonderful, if not a little offputting being half naked in multi-sex baths. But the feeling of cleanliness is quite amazing. I then decided to jump on the evening bus which went directly to Instanbul and took 12 hours, costing £14. I took the route which involved crossing the sea of Marmaris which cuts a few hours of the journey.

Istanbul was a hub of exciting culture, stunning history and manic rush hours. I insisted on walking round the city as it is always the best way to discover a place. On the first day I walked over the bridge crossing the golden horn to explore the other side of the river. I must have walked 10 miles or more that day, discovering the restaurant quarter, the shopping area and then further down the coast to Ortakoy, a dock area with great bars and restaurants from where you can take a river cruise and see Istanbul by water - well worth the 90 minutes at sunset.

Read about the rest of Tom's journey:
Stage 1: From Cairo to Dahab
Stage 2: Across Jordan: Aqaba, Wadi Rumm, Wadi Musa and Petra
Stage 3: From Amman to Jerash.
Stage 4: Across Syria

You can follow Tom's overland trip across the Middle East on his Google Map.

Tom's trip was planned with help from Your Safe Planet.