Take the Alexander trail

Colin Farrell does his best to portray Alexander's greatness in Oliver Stone's movie.

Oliver Stone's version of Alexander - which might still be playing to an empty cinema near you - may be a turkey as a movie but it should be a great travelogue.

While he was doing his conquering, that Alexander the Great visited some fascinating countries: Greece, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Gaza, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan and India.

And he saw some of the world's most amazing sights: Troy, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Tyre, the Gordian knot, Jerusalem, the pyramids and temples of Egypt, Babylon, the ancient Iranian capital of Ecbatana, the mighty Himalayas, the Khyber Pass, fabled Samarkand and Darius the Great's glorious capital of Persepolis, from which, according to Plutarch, Alexander took 20,000 mules and 5000 camels laden with souvenirs.

In the process he changed the course of civilisation, making Greek thinking the foundation stone of global culture, a position it still occupies today.

What a fantastic trip. What a wonderful collection of mementoes he must have assembled. Some of his travel snaps - which in those days were mostly carved on blocks of stone - were so interesting you can still see them in museums.

In fact, rather than see the film I would like to follow in Alexander's sandals. But is that possible without a deadly spear and the finest army in the world?

"Not easy," according to Carl Jackson, at Global Village, a British company specialising in offbeat journeys. "His route has some obvious issues.

"First, you can't cross the Golan Heights between Israel and Syria as Alexander did. And if you go to Israel you won't be able to enter Syria or Lebanon or Iran if there's evidence of travel to Israel in your passport.

"I know it doesn't sound very rock'n'roll having Alexander amend his campaign due to visa restrictions, but today's traveller doesn't quite have his influence."

It probably isn't very rock'n'roll, either, to say that some of the places Alexander dropped in on last time around - Iraq, say, or Afghanistan or Baluchistan - are a bit, er, risky these days, but unless you're a fearless warrior you're probably better off giving them a miss, too. " " " "

So where can you still go on the Alexander trail? The early part is easy enough.

Pella, where Alexander was born, is a rather small town today, but it has a magnificent display of ancient mosaics. To get there, it's probably easiest to fly into Thessaloniki, now the capital of the Greek province of Macedonia, and catch the regular bus service.

To get a feel for the wealth of the short-lived Macedonian Empire, carry on to the royal cemetery at Vergina, to see the impressive tomb of Alexander's father, Philip ll, and return to Thessaloniki, where the magnificent treasures from the tomb are on display in the museum.

Thessaloniki rose to power as the second city of Byzantium, and contains some superb old churches, but unless you want to emulate Alexander by taking eight years over your journey it's probably time to mount your modern Bucephalus and get going.

For for this part of the journey there is no need to go beyond the excellent local bus network which for a modest fee will carry you across northern Greece to Kipi and over the Turkish border to Ipsala.

Another local bus goes down the Gallipoli Peninsula, where the Anzac spirit was forged, to Eceabat, where for about $1 you can take the ferry across the Dardanelles to Canakkale and Asia.

If you are circumspect, you might be able to emulate Alexander by tossing a spear from the ferry into the wharf parking area in a symbolic conquest of Asia.

The Macedonian Army's itinerary in the Middle East was largely dictated by Alexander's wish to destroy the Persian king Darius, his rival for global power, but the modern traveller has more choice.

You could hook up with an organised expedition. For instance, Peter Gibbs, of House of Travel Parnell, recommends a $2200, 35-day Istanbul to Cairo tour which sweeps majestically through Turkey, Syria, Jordan and Egypt to Alexandria roughly following his path.

If you want to stick more closely to the true route, you could follow the advice of House of Travel operator Vincent George, who takes many of his holidays in the Middle East, and hire a local car, driver and guide to take you through Turkey, Syria and Lebanon. "It's surprisingly cheap," he says, "and it allows you to see the places you want at your own pace, and take advantage of local knowledge."

If, like Alexander, you want to make your way across the world without help from anyone, then Lonely Planet offers a plan involving bus, taxi, train and plane.

For instance, a three-hour bus trip from Canakkale will get you to the site of the famous Battle of Granikos - where Alexander won his first victory over the Persians - which took place on today's River Biga near the port city of Bandirma. Then it's on to Sardis, or Sart as it is known today, capital of the Lydian kingdom, birthplace of coinage and once home to the famously rich King Croesus, but no match for the Macedonians.

When Alexander reached Ephesus, further down the Aegean coast, the locals were rebuilding their temple to Cybele/Artemis and the young king kindly offered to cover the cost provided it was dedicated to him.

The Ephesians diplomatically explained it was not done for one god to make a dedication to another, and the temple went on to become one of the wonders of the ancient world. Even today the city is a treasure trove of pillared ruins and ceremonial walkways.

Next we come to Halikarnassus, today's coastal resort city of Bodrum, once home to another wonder of the ancient world, the white marble tomb of King Mausolus (hence the word the word "mausoleum").

From here, Alexander's route followed the coast from Bodrum to Antalya, an 11-hour bus trip. The ruined city of Termessos makes an interesting detour from Antalya (30 minutes by taxi) because its warlike inhabitants gave him one of his few bloody noses. Today, the site includes some spectacular Roman ruins.

Alexander then swung from Side, now a thriving beach resort with some impressive Roman ruins, on a lengthy detour inland to impatiently undo the Gordion knot with a stroke of his sword, then back to the coast at Tarsus, the birthplace of St Paul.

Next stop was Iskenderun, which he founded after defeating Darius yet again, at the Battle of Issus.

After taking in the ancient city of Antioch (today's Antakya) our tour heads south along the eastern Mediterranean coast via Syria, Lebanon and the Gaza strip.

You'll need a visa to enter Syria, but you can catch a direct bus from Antakya to Damascus (only $7.50 for the eight-hour trip). Alexander tarried there a while and it's still well worth spending several days in the city's atmospheric bazaars and monuments.

To reach Tyre, which Alexander besieged in 332BC, catch the bus from Damascus to Beirut, picking up a Lebanese visa at the border.

The ancient city of Tyre (modern-day Sour) has some fabulous Roman ruins and is close to equally ancient Sidon, with its magnificent Crusader fort.

Alexander's next move was to Egypt, where he founded Alexandria and visited the famous Oracle of Amun at the oasis of Siwa, receiving confirmation that he was indeed the son of Zeus and Amun.

As far as we know, his godlike qualities did not include the ability to fly but your latter-day traveller is probably best advised to get to Alexandria from Beirut on Egypt Air. Unfortunately, modern political realities mean going via Israel and the Palestinian territory of Gaza is not an option.

Little remains of Alexandria's illustrious past, but it is still worth a visit, as is Siwa oasis, one of the country's most picturesque spots, famous for its olives and dates. Memphis, the ancient capital, is now a suburb of Cairo but the remains of the temples and pyramids Alexander would have seen are still amazing tourists.

After that, the route gets even more tricky. Alexander went back up the Mediterranean coast via Jerusalem to Damascus, then across Iraq, Babylon (modern Baghdad), Iran and the various 'Stans of Central Asia, many of which are probably even less welcoming today than they were 2300 years ago.

Lonely Planet suggests the best bet is to fly from Cairo via Kuwait to Shiraz in Iran, from where it is only a $1.50 taxi ride to Persepolis, still a magnificent place of palaces and monuments in spite of Alexander's depredations.

The city and archaeological sites of Shush (now Susa), capital of the ancient kingdom of Elam, are a 10-hour taxi run from Shiraz (only $6.50) and also well worth a visit.

Travelling on to Afghanistan is not recommended, though if you decide to go anyway you'll find visas are surprisingly easy to obtain.

Khandahar, which Alexander founded, is definitely off-limits, but you could fly from Tehran to Kabul and on to Herat, another stopping-off point for Alexander, where the Old City retains much of its character.

His first target was to conquer ancient Bactria, embracing the Hindu Kush and Panjshir Valley, using as his base the regional capital, Balkh, birthplace in the 6th century BC of Zoroaster. Today, however, it is little more than a village about 20km from Mazar-e Sharif.

From Bactria, Alexander crossed the River Oxus to reach the magnificent city of Samarkand, in modern Uzbekistan.

This marvellous place is back on the intrepid traveller's agenda, although Antipodean visitors will need a letter of introduction (usually from a Central Asian travel agent) before being issued a visa.

When Alexander got there (at that time it was called Marakanda), he commented: "Everything I have heard about Marakanda is true, except that it's more beautiful than I ever imagined."

The Turkmenistan site of Merv, known as Margiana in Alexander's days, was another notable stopping-off point for the conqueror. The legendary city was utterly destroyed by the Mongols in the 13th century but its archaeological remains are worth a visit.

Alexander founded his most remote city, known as Farthest Alexandria, near the site of modern-day Khojand in northern Tajikistan. The city's mosques and palaces were destroyed by the Mongols but it does have perhaps the largest statue of Lenin in Central Asia.

Travel in the region is tricky because of diplomatic sparring, but there are regular flights to the Uzbekistan, capital of Tashkent, and on to Samarkand; Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe, which has air links to Khojand; and Turkmenistan's capital of Ashbagat, from where you can get to Merv.

After that you can get a feel for Alexander's foray into what was then India by flying on to Lahore, capital of the Punjab region, which briefly became part of his empire.

Take a taxi along the Grand Trunk Rd to the River Jhelum, on the banks of which the Macedonians defeated the local rajah, holding their nerve despite meeting elephants in battle for the first time.

From there, Alexander followed the Indus River to its delta, where he founded the city of Pattala, probably the modern Hyderabad, a vast, confusing metropolis, but with some interesting tombs, forts and bazaars.

At that point Alexander's army decided they had had enough and wanted to go home, so he grumpily led them through the appalling Sandy Desert, in modern Baluchistan, back to Babylon, where he died in 323BC.

Unfortunately, we must part company there, since Baluchistan is just as dangerous as Iraq, and head for home, exhausted and travel-weary, but with some great stories.

Of course, if Alexander and his chaps had the benefit of being able to use my favourite travel agent, Merilynn Crean, who these days works as a consultant for House of Travel, they would have had a much more comfortable journey.

Merilynn is about to leave on a customised version of Sundowners' Silk Road expeditions, travelling mainly by rail from Beijing through Mongolia, Siberia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Turkey (or the other way round if you want to be picky). The standard 35-day trip costs $7200.

Add in a side trip to Egypt and a visit to Pella at the end and it has quite an Alexandrian flavour to it.

True, the Macedonians didn't actually get as far as China, but Alexander had planned to until his troops rebelled.

But, if you do decide to follow in Alexander's footsteps, be careful what you eat, and be sure to wash your hands. Don't forget that the man who may have been the greatest general of all time died of food poisoning (though some suggest he was actually poisoned by his troops to stop him taking them somewhere else). There's no need to follow his lead too closely.

* Information for this article came mainly from Lonely Planet but also the Independent, House of Travel Parnell and Vincent George House of Travel in Dunedin, Merilynn Crean, Allan Orton's Mediterranean Magic and dozens of internet sites.