Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Cycling the world - Asia: 15 episode
My rush toward the Iraqi border continues as the days on my Turkish visa run out. Leaving my host in Gaziantep freshly showered and with clean clothes I ride south toward the Syrian border on a day that marks ten years on the road. Ten years and more than ninety five thousand kilometres. I celebrate with a kebab and ayran before pushing on through pistachio farms in forty three degree heat soaking myself in every fountain I find.
Near the Syrian border the road I planned is restricted to military access. The Jendarma detains me for an hour before redirecting me on a detour that adds more than fifty kilometres. With only six days left on my visa I ride deep into the night until a village leader offers me hospitality after children harass me in the cemetery.
The next day I ride along the wall that divides Turkey and Syria. Cotton fields flood the dirt road leaving me stuck in mud and then soldiers stop me again forcing yet another long reroute. Exhausted and under the threat of heat stroke I find shelter at a small home where a hardware shop owner rehydrates and feeds me. After a short break I ride into the night again and camp outside a family home that welcomes me as their guest. They tell me they feel Arab before Turkish. Iraq is still far but I keep pushing.
MY GEAR FULL LIST: kit.co/davidetravelli
SUPPORT my round the world bike expedition:
Donations: paypal.me/davidetravelli
Postcards' Club: alaska2patagonia.com/postcards-club
Follow me:
Blog: alaska2patagonia.com
Instagram: instagram.com/davidetravelli
Facebook: facebook.com/davidetravelli
Twitter: twitter.com/davidetravelli
#bikepacking #biketouring #bikelife
#bicycletouring #cycling
*Some links in this description are affiliate links and therefore when clicked, if you buy the service or product I may make a small commission off of that sale. My opinions on products and services remain unbiased.
Cycling the world - Asia: 15 episode
My rush toward the Iraqi border continues as the days on my Turkish visa run out. Leaving my host in Gaziantep freshly showered and with clean clothes I ride south toward the Syrian border on a day that marks ten years on the road. Ten years and more than ninety five thousand kilometres. I celebrate with a kebab and ayran before pushing on through pistachio farms in forty three degree heat soaking myself in every fountain I find.
Near the Syrian border the road I planned is restricted to military access. The Jendarma detains me for an hour before redirecting me on a detour that adds more than fifty kilometres. With only six days left on my visa I ride deep into the night until a village leader offers me hospitality after children harass me in the cemetery.
The next day I ride along the wall that divides Turkey and Syria. Cotton fields flood the dirt road leaving me stuck in mud and then soldiers stop me again forcing yet another long reroute. Exhausted and under the threat of heat stroke I find shelter at a small home where a hardware shop owner rehydrates and feeds me. After a short break I ride into the night again and camp outside a family home that welcomes me as their guest. They tell me they feel Arab before Turkish. Iraq is still far but I keep pushing.
MY GEAR FULL LIST: kit.co/davidetravelli
SUPPORT my round the world bike expedition:
Donations: paypal.me/davidetravelli
Postcards' Club: alaska2patagonia.com/postcards-club
Follow me:
Blog: alaska2patagonia.com
Instagram: instagram.com/davidetravelli
Facebook: facebook.com/davidetravelli
Twitter: twitter.com/davidetravelli
#bikepacking #biketouring #bikelife
#bicycletouring #cycling
*Some links in this description are affiliate links and therefore when clicked, if you buy the service or product I may make a small commission off of that sale. My opinions on products and services remain unbiased.
