Turkey Route
In brief: The journey from Sofia to Istanbul by train and some bus (cause of some temporary disagreement between the two counties) and a lot of waiting has taken about 17 hours. The ticket was again €20. That adds up €104 from Lüneburg to Istanbul. Traveling time comes up to 55 hours.
I guess that is quite reasonable time to get your foot into Asia, so why always traveling in one of these non-sexy flying cigars! Visas at the border for EU citizens and most other nationalities are for – free including a serious bagging-check. Turkey is a no nonsense country, when it comes to drugs or weapons.
Just spend a day in Istanbul which is still one of the nicest cities in the world and a few days in Cappadocia one of my favorite places in Turkey. Cappadocia is basically situated in the center of Turkey. It’s relaxed, has cheap accommodation and interesting landscapes which makes it a good stopover, either on the overland route to Africa or to the Subcontinent. Transport in Turkey is very comfortable and efficient although not cheap. From Istanbul to the Syrian border near Anatkya (the main crossing) costs about €105 and it takes approx. 25 hours. You could do it also by train but it will be much slower. Turkey is not anymore a cheap country to travel – since they want to become a member of the EU. A liter of petrol is €1,80 and a bottle of beer in a pub €2,5! A cheap meal will cost you around €6 and a room €20 and more in Istanbul!
Pigeon valley, Cappadocia