BootsnAll Travel Community

Greetings to all.

This is my first post on the forum, and I'd like to thank all its members for their great input.

I am a U.S. citizen, currently staying in yerevan, armenia. May-Aug '07 I would like to plan a trip through the middle east. I would like to cover as much territory as possible in the time span available, and furthermore I am a professional photographer (currently documenting poverty in AM), so I prefer that the path I take takes me through every day villages/cities/people moreso than any particular tourist attraction (as much as possible).

The only absolute must-have destinations are:
1. Esfahan and Tehran in Iran
2. Aleppo and Damascus in Syria
3. Kuwait
4. Saudi Arabia

Would be nice if possible, but not required:
1. N. Afghanistan
2. Pakistan
3. Cairo

But again I would like to cover as many countries as possible during this trip. I know its booking it - but I'm a photographer on the run moreso than being on a vacation, and I'm not concerned about comfort.

I have almost a year to plan this and get everything I need ready. I was looking for advice, ideas, and support from the general community here.

Some of my concerns are.

1. Attaining required visas (also note my current location is yerevan, AM). Where to get them, how fast, etc.
2. Travelling from place to place. Where to start, and how to move about (foot? trains? planes?)

I've never done a stint through the middle east and am not sure where to begin. A suggested route that covers the most countries most efficiently would be most appreciated - my itinerary is obviously yet to be conceived.

Thanks SO MUCH in advance for your help.

Best regards,

Pat

Looks like I get first crack at this one

Since you have already said Cairo is on your 'maybe' list, I will recommend another area of Egypt for your purpose: the desert oases. These are a string of four oases surrounded by incredible desert scenery (specifically, the White Desert, but there are many different types of landscapes here). This is certainly the most amazing desert area I've ever visited and the white desert at sunset is amazing for photography. While I was there I met a French travel photographer who stayed in the Dakhla oasis for about a month. Just near the town is a ghost town of mudbrick buildings with the occasional goat or child making a beautiful scene. Photographing this area was the specific reason Christian came to Egypt, so maybe this could be a good place for you to go to as well.

So that's just one suggestion. Onto more practical matters, and the big problem with your trip that I can see from your post is the combination of you wanting to go to Iran and having a bald eagle on the front of your passport. My fiancee is American (I am Australian) and she has done copious amounts of research about trying to go to Iran independently and it seems as though unless you are extremely lucky or have many months to spare to deal with the Interests Section in Washington D.C. (which you obviously don't), then you will have to go on an organised tour. I imagine this is not at all ideal for your photography purposes.

The other major issue I see is Saudi Arabia, which remains one of the most difficult countries for a Westerner to enter.

If Iran and KSA prove problematic, that leaves you with Kuwait and Syria (which is fantastic) among your must-haves, and Egypt, Pakistan and Afghanistan among your maybes. (Pakistan, by the way, is amazing -- you can get incredible nature shots in the Northern Areas and also great people shots in Peshawar and other places.) So it looks like you'll need to book a few flights in order to make it work. To get around within a country, you'll be relying on buses as there aren't many passenger trains left in this part of the world (unless you extend your trip to include India...).

In all, I would say your best bet if you want to go overland as much as possible is to go from Armenia to Turkey, and then down through Syria, Jordan and Egypt. From Cairo you might be able to swing a flight to Pakistan or Afghanistan that goes through Kuwait or KSA (if you can get in).

I hope this is useful for you.

EighteenRabbit,

Thank you very much for your response, I am sorry I am just reading it now - I have not been accessing the internet regularly. But again, thanks for your response.

I am currently working with the Iranian embassy in Yerevan which has proven most unhelpful and dispiriting. I've been learning Persian for the last 2.5 years so its rather upsetting that I probably won't get in and be able to use it. I will continue to try however.

Anyways thank you for your route ideas and the idea of the desert oases. If you don't mind I might send you some inquiries if I have more questions. ?

Best to you and talk to you soon,

Pat

I don't have anything specific, www.lightstalkers.org is photographer website, with people all over who would have info on travel and planning for photographers.

Thanks for the advice on the website. Also things are looking up with the Iran visa. The contact at the Iranian mosque here in Yerevan is helping me arrange things with the powers that be in tehran.

I've been doing some thinking about my itinerary for this summer and I think I've come up with a near-final plan, that I wanted to run by the forum. I've been talking with some travel agencies for flights and these flights are available at a decent price, and they are just waiting for me to finalize dates for them on the flights.

I wanted to see what you thought about the time that I've allotted to the different areas, and hear your recommomendations on where perhaps I should extend/shorten certain stays. As you can see I allotted the most time in Egypt and Pakistan, with an exciting addition of varanasi at the end.

The first half will be all overland from Iran or Armenia down through Egypt. I'll enter Syria twice going into and then out of Lebanon. I was curious if you know if boats crossed from the southwest corner of Jordan into Egypt so I can avoid entering Israel? Then there will be a flight into Yemen, and another flight to Oman (I do not want to try travelling by land across these two countries). I don't have great interest in seeing Oman for an extended period, its a long connection so I figured I'd stay just a few days.

The next jump is a flight from Muscat to Islamabad - from where I plan to spend some time, and then cross into Afghanistan for a few days, then backtrack back to the Islm. airport and head to Varanasi. Then its Varanasi back home to the states, but it connects at Delhi so I figure I'll stop there for a few days and walkabout.

Anyways - so thats the plan I'm looking at, and I'd love to hear advice/reccomendations on lengths of stay in certain places, etc. Of course all the overland dates can be somewhat fluid but I will have to lock the flights to specific dates, which I would like to do soon while they're still relatively cheap.Also the end date of Aug 23 is firm.

Lastly, visas are a concern for me. Do you know of a good resource to figure out how I can make this work? Ignoring the obvious difficulties with Iran, do most countries offer visas at the border, etc.? I'm not sure if I can get most of these at the border - not all the embassies are in Armenia.

Also, a "n00b" question - I have 8 clean visa pages in my passport - will that be enough? It seems sometimes countries slobber a whole page full of stamps, and sometimes it only takes up one little block.

Anyways, i've rambled on.

Best regards!
Pat

ITINERARY:

May 3-14 = Iran (11 Days)
May 15-20 = Turkey (5 Days)
May 21-26 = Syria (5 Days)
May 27-31 = Lebanon (4 Days)
June 1-2 = Syria (1 Day)
June 3-9 = Jordan (6 Days)
June 10-27 = Egypt (17 Days)
June 28 = FLIGHT CAIRO-SANAA
June 29-July 5 = Yemen (6 Days)
July 6 = FLIGHT SANAA-MUSCAT
July 7-10 = Oman (3 Days)
July 11 = FLIGHT MUSCAT-ISLAMABAD
July 12-27 = Pakistan (15 Days)
July 28-Aug 5 = Afghanistan (8 Days)
Aug 6-7 = Pakistan (1 Day)
Aug 8 = FLIGHT ISLAMABAD-VARANASI
Aug 9-15 = SE India (6 Days)
Aug 16 = FLIGHT VARANASI-DELHI
Aug 17-22 = NW India (5 Days)
Aug 23 = FLIGHT DELHI-WASH. DC

Visas Req.d, in order of travel:
Iran
*Turkey
Syria
Lebanon
*Jordan
Egypt
*Yemen
*Oman
*Pakistan
*Afghanistan
India

*'s = No embassy/consulate in Armenia

I only know about Yemen. You can get a 30 day tourist visa at the airport for, I think $60 USD (pay in rials, exchange just before visa window.) Looking at a travel guide you can also get a visa for Oman at the airport.

For the rest of them check www.state.gov. It has links to the consulates of all the countries and the availabilities of the visas.

Turkish visas are easily obtained upon arrival so you won't have to worry about that.

Pat, I'll post some of the visa things I mentioned in my email to you here as well for the benefit of others...

For visas, you'll need to get them in advance for Syria ($100 for US citizens), India and Pakistan (and I imagine Afghanistan, too). Visas at the border for Turkey ($100 again), Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt. I think you will be able to get them for Yemen and Oman at the airports but you should double check that.

And as a warning, the India and Pakistan visas take up a full page each in your passport.

Are you on the road yet? If not, my two cents:
- Turkey is amazing, diverse, and huge. I'm hoping that you've seen much of it already; if not, then only spending five days there is criminal!
- While I recognize that you want to avoid tourist areas, seeing Petra in Jordan is a must. Most folks stay in Wadi Mousa, although there is a smaller, completely untouristed Bedouin town nearby that looked like it might have accomodations.
- It looks like you found a way to cross from Iran to Turkey... amazing. How'd you do it?

I'm also wondering if you have started your trip, are on the road - etc. etc. - where are you? And one question that I don't think anyone asked (and I missed this thread somehow earlier on) - how can you come visit all these ME countries and skip Israel??????

suzanne