ROUTE
Destination Africa
Those determined to cross Africa from one end to the other usually follow two different routes: Along the west or the east coast, either from north to south or south to north. Those "downward travellers" along the west coast generally cross the Strait of Gibraltar entering Africa via Morocco, whereas "down travellers" along the east coast either go via Turkey, cross the Middle East (Syria and Jordan) and then take the ferry from the Gulf of Aqaba to Sinai Peninsula or take a ferry from a Southern European country disembarking in Tunisia. "South-bound" trip mostly ends in the southernmost point of this ancient continent: Cape Town (Republic of South Africa). The vehicle then is shipped back home whilst the crew take a flight back home. There are also those who take the opposite route, they "travel up" from south to north. But generally speaking, the route is the same most of the time.
Naturally, there are also those who follow a completely different route. Some even "go down" the west coast and "go up" the east. I think the last group is aviophobic.
My initial route was
none of above. I was planning to cross Egypt via Middle East; take a turn
from Sudan; cross over to Western Africa via Chad; and travel up along
west Africa all the way up north to Morocco then follow the southern Mediterranean
coastline returning Turkey again via Egypt again. I started preparations
according to this route. While I was working on it I found out that the
Chad - Sudan border was closed following a conflict in the Darfur region.
Also to my surprise I heard that the border between Morocco and Algeria
has been closed for a long time. At this point I dropped that "be
different" attitude. Well actually I was not trying to be different,
but just trying not to stray too far away from "home", as if
12.000 kilometers is not far enough…
Verdict: Istanbul - Cape Town
This year (2005) around March I completed the outline of my route. As
marked on the map, I will start in Istanbul; cross the Middle East via
Syria and Jordan; then from Aqaba, Jordan I will take a ferry to Nuveiba
on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt, hence set wheel in Africa. I will then
proceed to Sudan again on a ferry but this time across the Lake Nasser,
a reservoir on the Nile River. The rest of the planned route can be traced
down the blue line on the map.
Once the trip commences
a red line will be used to mark down the actual route taken. Along the
way, these two lines may go in different directions. The route might inevitably
change as the trip continues, based on first-hand information received
on the road. This may be due to unexpected political and social events
in the countries ahead, or possible logistic, administrative or other
problems. I still hope to stick to the planned route as much as I can.
