Hi,

I just landed in Ethiopia with my bike and I was hoping to get a visa for Yemen. But, it seems kind of mission impossible although throughout our correspondence they said it was no problem at all! So I´m thinking of alternative routes kind of last minute and under time pressure. As my final destination is Central Asia via Iran the whole thing is a bit inconvenient as it means a big detour for me. So I would appreciate if you could guide me a little bit.

May main route was:

Ethiopia, Djibouti, Yemen, Oman, Emirates, Iran, Turkmenistan...

But now it seems that my options are as follows:

1. Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, (Israel)?, ferry to Greece or to Turkey?, Iran,Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan.... The question is how do I get from Egypt closest to Iran or Eastern Turkey as I heard that there isn´t any ferry from Egypt to Europe. In this case where shall I take the ferry, how long does it take & how much does it cost for myself and the bike?

2. Ethiopia, Sudan/Port of Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Emirates, Iran... The question is if as a female solo rider I´ll be given a transit visa for Saudi Arabia. I have heard that solo female travelers under 40 will not be given any visa. No idea if riding will be help! And if so as I´ll be given only a 2 weeks transit visa for Sudan does anybody know the schedule of the ferry from Port of Sudan to Jeddah and the price?

3. Djibouti, Aqba and then...? Any idea if there is a ferry connecting the two ports or if I rather have to ship the bike and take a flight (would not like the idea at all)?

Btw, If anybody is going to be around Ethiopia I´ll be in the north for a few weeks. Just drop me a line and come by for a delicious cup of Ethiopian coffee .

Thanks a lot.
Mahsa

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