All around the Mediterranean - solo 1964
Total distance approximately 16,000 km (10,000 miles)
Original map (= without itinerary): >O H 237 / Wikimedia Commons
From top left: Tunesia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan
By sheer coincidence, I ran into my former hitchhiking partner Ruud (see below) in Damascus, Syria. We decided to hitchhike together to Jordan. There, we experienced the warm hospitality of the Bani Sakher Bedouin tribe in the desert. We spent two days and nights in a tent like the one shown in the picture above. Ruud, who was studying Arabic at the time (and later became a renowned professor of islamic law), had the opportunity to practice his language skills - although the younger generation Bedouins also spoke English.
One elderly tribesman recalled meeting Lawrence of Arabia during negotiations over support for the Arab Revolt against the Turks in World War I. Most Europeans traveling in the Middle East in 1964 were still under the spell of the legendary British colonel, inspired by the epic film Lawrence of Arabia, which had been released two years earlier.
Heading east 1961-1963
Three times I hitchhiked with my buddy Rob, from the Netherlands through the Balkans, heading east. We made it to Thessaloniki, Greece, in 1961 (see picture). In 1962 we reached Istanbul, Turkey, and in 1963 we made it as far as Damascus, Syria. The following year, I continued solo - Rob had been drafted into the military.
How it all began
My hitchhiking career began in 1958, when my classmate Ruud and I - both fifteen years old - set off on a bicycle tour through Belgium and Germany. Halfway through the trip, our bikes broke down, and we decided to switch to hitchhiking for the final leg. We picked it up again in 1959, traveling through Denmark and Sweden. In the years that followed, we each went our separate ways, but by coincidence, a brief reunion took place in 1964, as mentioned above.
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