Overland travel from to Turkey draws summer crowds

MOSUL — Demand for overland travel from Mosul to Turkey is high this summer, driven by tourism and cross-border visits from northern Iraq’s communities. VIP bus tickets are priced at 50,000 dinars ($35.70), with most routes heading to Ankara for Tal Afar’s Turkmen residents and to Istanbul and Sakarya for leisure travelers from across Mosul. The trip to Istanbul by bus takes about 30 hours.

Travel agencies also offer faster car services to Şırnak Airport in southeastern Turkey, just across the border from Zakho, for $75. From there, passengers can connect to domestic Turkish flights. While there are no direct services from Mosul to Iran, limited trips to Syria operate three times a week at 40,000 dinars ($28.60).

“We have daily trips starting at 2 or 3 a.m., and currently demand from tourists is excellent and will end in October, while Tal Afar’s Turkmen residents travel year-round,” said Abdulrahman Adnan, a travel company employee. “A ticket for one passenger is 50,000 dinars, and most trips go to Ankara first, then Istanbul and Sakarya.”

Turkish visas are processed at the consulate in Mosul’s Faisaliah area and issued from Erbil within three days. “A one-month visa costs $125, a three-month multiple-entry visa is $145, and an annual visa is $165. An additional $10 is charged per visa for transport from Erbil to Mosul,” Adnan said. He noted that fares drop in winter to 40,000 dinars ($28.60) due to lower demand. Luggage shipping costs between 30,000 and 50,000 dinars ($21.40–$35.70), while postal services cost $10.

Bus driver Mohammed Raad said the journey begins at 3 a.m. “We reach the border at 5:30 or 6 a.m., then go through passport stamping and x-ray inspections on both the Iraqi and Turkish sides, which take between two and three hours,” he said. The Turkish border closes daily from 7 to 8 a.m. and from 4 to 5:30 p.m. for inspection crew changes. Passengers are allowed three cartons of cigarettes, one kilogram of tea, tahini, or pickles, and personal-use medicines only.

“All salon car trips depart from transport offices in the Shurta neighborhood,” said driver Yazen Al-Obaidi. “We stop in Gaziantep province or at Şırnak Airport, where fuel costs $1 per liter, raising trip prices if continuing to other Turkish governorates. Passengers complete their trip by Turkish bus or plane at reasonable prices.”

A seat from Mosul to Gaziantep costs $75 and takes about seven hours, with the Mosul-to-border segment taking 90 minutes and border inspections adding two more hours. “The road is good, and we do not face problems on it,” Al-Obaidi said.