Bazargan-Doğubeyazıt border crossing
Bazargan-Doğubeyazıt border crossing
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| <map lat='39.411893541267474' lng='44.37797427177429' zoom='12' view='0' float='right' /> | |
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| Countries: |  Iran |  Turkey
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| Type: | Road |
| Motorway: | E 80 |
The Bazargan-Doğubeyazıt border crossing is the most northerly of three (?) major border crossing points between Turkey and Iran. It's a very busy border crossing; several hundred trucks queue on each side and wait several days until they get to cross. For you as a foot passenger, crossing will likely take less than five minutes after you've walked up to the border building (some 500 metres from the entrance of the complex on the Turkish side, some 2 kilometers on the Iranian side past all the waiting trucks). The Iranian side has a pleasant-ish terminal with heated waiting rooms and some nosy hustlers while the Turkish terminal gets fairly cold in winter and there is a fee for toilets. The border guards might allow you to sleep on the carpet in the mosque on the Turkish side as experienced by Zenit in January 2012. The two terminals are less than 50 meters apart from each other (even though the Iranian border guards have no idea about that fact - when Zenit asked them if it would be possible to walk between the terminals they told him they didn't know as they'd never been on the other side). On the Iranian side of the border, there's the village of Bazargan (the petrol station there might be a good spot to find rides; petrol costs about a quarter of the Turkish price in Iran) while there's nothing at all on the Turkish side. The nearest town is Doğubeyazıt some 35 kilometers from the border. Hitchhiking out towards there can be a bit tedious because the trucks are dealt with very very slowly in the border and most traffic are mini buses and full packed Iranian cars. Pass the time watching the dogs which are plentyful and frolick joyfully.
The Iranian border guards are so nice, especially when you look like a foreigner. They will pick you out of the lines, place you in front and make sure you're not experiencing any trouble. They check and stamp your visa and will most likely let you walk without a look at your bag and what's inside. At the end of the 'procedure' there is a smiling man who welcomes you to Iran :)
