wmcmiii, what will be your route? I went from Istanbul along the main highway to Ankara. Were you thinking of taking the coast route along the Med down to Syria? (We all end up in Syria...it just depends on how you get there. hehehe) Went South by Southeast to Cappadocia and then south to the Iron Gates (?) down to Tarsus. Along the inland highway (there is no other?) to Antakya and Syria.

Syria along the coast to Latakya and Tartus, then inland to south of Homs, skirting the Lebanese border and down to Damascus. Major site to see was the castle of Krak de Chevalier.

Damascus south to Jordan and took the King's Highway (not the newer one to the east which is a LOT busier) to visit Petra and Wadi Rum. Down to Aqaba (you will love the monstrous downhill from Wadi Rum to Aquba!) and took the ferry across to Sinai. I had to take the bus to Cairo which was about three-five hours away. Sinai was the most desolate place I've ever seen and, at the time, I don't think it was very safe to bike/camp through. No towns and no water supplies from what I could tell. Just UN observation posts. Of course, if you're further north along the Med coast it may be a different story.

I camped quite a bit but accomodations were very cheap if you don't want to take that route. Along that entire route, I may have seen (better to say "heard of") four bike shops. In Jordan (?) there is supposedly a bike racing club made up of a bunch of rich guys who zip around on Peugeots and whatnot. I never found out where they got their parts but I suspect that it's all shipped in by hand through friends visiting Europe.

If you have any more specific questions, just ask. I found the Lonely Planet book, Syria and Jordan, to be extremely helpful. Not sure if they still print that but I'd stick with Lonely Planet.

P.S. You're not American are you? hehehe