Every day, hundreds of people at Lebanon's northern port city of Tripoli board a ship bound for Turkey -- but for most, the trip is anything but a relaxing holiday. The ship returns nearly empty, because most of those on board are not tourists but Syrians setting out on the first stage of a journey to escape their country's conflict and build a new life, AFP reports.
These Syrians are mostly middle-class and have the benefit of valid travel documents, meaning they can take advantage of the visa-free entry Turkey offers Syrians. But once they reach Turkey's shores, at the ports of Tasucu or Mersin, they join the thousands who have gone before them, paying smugglers exorbitant fees and risking their lives to continue their journey onwards to Europe.