Working as a shipping company from Madinah to Turkey, Gulf International Shipping offers two routes: air freight from Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport to Istanbul on nonstop flights of about 3 hours 50 minutes, and sea freight, where our truck takes your goods about 420 km to Jeddah Islamic Port and a container carries them through the Suez Canal to Mersin, İzmir or the Istanbul ports before clearance and delivery to your address. An air parcel reaches Istanbul in 3–5 working days; a container gets to Mersin and Adana in roughly 15–21 days and to Istanbul, İzmir and Bursa in 19–29 days. Madinah rates begin with documents at SAR 92, flown parcels to 5 kg at SAR 138, air cargo at SAR 14 per kilo, SAR 920 for a bedroom by sea, SAR 2,760 for the contents of a whole home, and SAR 4,140 for an entire 20 ft box.
What sets Madinah apart from most Saudi cities when shipping to Turkey is its airport. Nonstop flights leave Madinah for Istanbul every day, with Saudia flying once daily and Turkish Airlines three to four times a day, so air freight here is a practical option rather than a luxury. Furniture and large appliances belong in a container, and that sails from Jeddah because the weekly container service to Turkey departs from there. This page helps you split your shipment between the two routes, with the price of each item, the timing for each Turkish city and what customs there expect.
At a glance
- By air: nonstop from Madinah airport to Istanbul, 3–5 working days door to door, from SAR 14 per kg
- By sea: Madinah → Hijrah Road to Jeddah (about 420 km) → Jeddah Islamic Port → Suez → Mersin, İzmir or Marmara
- Sea transit: 15–21 days to Mersin and Adana, 17–23 to Ankara, Konya and Antalya, 19–29 to Istanbul, İzmir and Bursa, 22–31 to Trabzon
- Parcels: papers SAR 92, a flown parcel to 5 kg SAR 138, 5–20 kg SAR 365 (starting prices)
- Furniture: bedroom SAR 920, fridge SAR 735, a whole home SAR 2,760, forty-foot container SAR 6,440 (starting prices)
- Cars: sealed container from Jeddah at SAR 5,060 upwards, only for cars Turkey will register
- Coverage: Madinah, Yanbu, AlUla, Badr and Khaybar, with delivery to every Turkish city
Route: Madinah → Istanbul by air, or Madinah → Jeddah → Mersin / İzmir by sea · Time: 3–5 days by air, 15–29 days by sea · 0568829975
Plane or container? Comparing shipping options from Madinah to Turkey
The two routes differ in almost every way, and the choice depends on the weight and size of your goods and how soon you need them. A simple rule: what one person can carry and will need soon goes by plane; what takes two people to lift goes in the container. The table sums it up:
Many of our Madinah customers combine the two: the suitcase of clothes, the papers and the laptop fly ahead so they are waiting on arrival, while the furniture and heavy cartons follow in a container a few weeks later. Splitting the load like this cuts the bill considerably, since a kilo in the hold is many times dearer than the same kilo inside a container.
Air freight from Madinah to Istanbul
Madinah–Istanbul is one of the few direct links between the Kingdom’s regional airports and Turkey. The distance is about 2,127 km, the flight about 3 hours 50 minutes, and cargo travels in the hold of the same passenger aircraft. We collect the parcel from your home, weigh and measure it, pack it for flying and hand it to the cargo terminal at Madinah airport. On arrival in Istanbul it is cleared and delivered there, or sent on by domestic connection to Ankara, İzmir, Antalya, Trabzon or Bursa, arriving 4–6 working days after collection.
- Chargeable weight: whichever is greater of scale weight and size-based weight, so bulky light boxes are billed by their dimensions.
- Batteries: loose lithium batteries are refused; devices travel with batteries fitted or removed depending on the type.
- Cosmetics: not flown in quantity, and alcohol-based perfumes are reviewed before shipping.
- Mobile phones: cannot enter Turkey in a parcel or courier shipment, so carry yours on your own flight.
- Heavy loads: personal effects above 30 kg are better sent by sea.
Flights from every Saudi airport to Turkey are gathered in air freight from Saudi Arabia to Turkey, and the service itself is described under air freight.
Approximate shipping prices from Madinah to Turkey
Madinah prices are built on what shipping companies publish for Madinah to Turkey, with each of our starting figures set below the lowest advertised rate. Where nothing is published for Madinah we used the nearest city that does publish. For containers and cars we matched Riyadh, since a load from Madinah has a shorter drive to Jeddah port and it would be odd for it to cost more.
Note: air freight from Madinah reaches Istanbul in 3–5 working days; sea freight reaches Mersin in about 15–21 days and Istanbul and İzmir in 19–29 days, with 5–7 extra days for a shared container. Clearance in Turkey and insurance depend on the value of the shipment, so ask for your quote on WhatsApp.
Price per item from Madinah to Turkey
Note that the “complete household” line covers between half a tonne and a tonne of belongings, which usually fills a small flat. If your home is larger, compare it with a private 20 ft container. For other origin cities, check shipping prices from Saudi Arabia to Turkey.
The sea route from Madinah: why the container goes through Jeddah
Each week a container service leaves Jeddah Islamic Port for Turkey, calling at Mersin some five days out and İskenderun some eight days out, and the same port is where connections and transshipment to İzmir and the Sea of Marmara are booked. So we bring loads from Madinah, Yanbu and AlUla to Jeddah. The truck covers about 420 km on the Hijrah Road, which adds a single day compared with Jeddah and Makkah shipments, a small difference on a journey of two weeks or more.
A private container is loaded outside your home in Madinah, sealed, and driven sealed to the port. With a shared box, the truck delivers your wrapped, numbered items to our Jeddah groupage shed, and they are loaded there alongside other consignments heading for the same Turkish port. In both cases the Fasah export declaration is ours to file, and you hear the vessel cut-off date before anything is loaded.
From Jeddah the vessel steams north, transits Suez and enters the Mediterranean, a route that does not pass the Bab el-Mandeb strait to the south. We check shipping conditions before every booking and choose the arrival port to suit the Turkish city you are heading for. Services and ports are covered at length in our Saudi Arabia to Turkey sea freight guide.
Sea and air only
We do not offer an overland service to Turkey. Going by road through Jordan and Syria means the cargo has to be switched onto a different truck at the Syrian frontier, so Gulf International Shipping sticks to sea from Jeddah and air from Madinah airport.
How long does shipping from Madinah to Turkey take?
These are approximate figures for a private container, covering preparation, the road to Jeddah, the voyage, Turkish clearance (usually 4–5 working days) and delivery. A shared container adds 5–7 days for consolidation and the weekly sailing. Vessel schedules and the pace of Turkish clearance shift these figures, so the firm date comes at booking.
Delivery to İzmir, the Aegean coast and southern Turkey
A good share of our Madinah shipments are not going to Istanbul at all but to the south and west: families who have settled in İzmir on the Aegean, others in Mersin, Adana and Gaziantep near the southern border, and students and teachers in Konya and Ankara. These cities are served by ports other than Istanbul’s, and picking the right one saves days and hundreds of kilometres of Turkish road.
- İzmir, Manisa and Denizli: the container arrives at İzmir or Aliağa on another service or via transshipment, then a short truck run to the house.
- Mersin and Adana: the shortest voyage from Jeddah, with delivery usually the day after release.
- Gaziantep and Hatay: through İskenderun or Mersin, then by road.
- Ankara and Konya: via Mersin; Ankara is about 500 km from the port by truck.
- Antalya: by truck from Mersin along the south coast, roughly 480 km.
- Istanbul and Bursa: via Ambarlı and Gemlik, and Trabzon by truck from Istanbul, about 1,050 km.
İzmir and the coastal towns have many older buildings with narrow stairs and one-way streets. Ahead of delivery we check which floor you are on, if a lift exists and if the truck can pull up outside; if it cannot, we use a smaller truck or an external furniture lift where available in the city, and agree that cost with you in advance.
Collection and packing in Madinah, Yanbu and AlUla
We collect from every district of Madinah: Quba, Al-Awali, Al-Aziziyah, Shuran, Al-Khalidiyah, Al-Difa, Sayed Al-Shuhada, Al-Uyun and more. Around the buildings close to the central area parking is scarce at busy hours, so we load at dawn or once the night prayer is over. From Yanbu the truck runs south along the coastal road straight to Jeddah; from AlUla and Khaybar it passes through Madinah and takes the same road; from Badr it cuts across towards the coast.
Sea packing differs from a local move, because the container goes from Madinah’s heat to sea humidity and then to the cold of Anatolia or İzmir’s winter rain. Each carpet is wound around a cardboard core and wrapped airtight in polythene to keep damp out. Appliances are drained and their moving parts secured. Books, of which student and teacher homes in Madinah have plenty, go into small lined cartons of no more than about 20 kg each. Glass and ornaments go into wooden crates. Every piece gets a number on the inventory, and for electrical appliances we record the brand and serial number, because Turkish customs ask for both.
Keep what travels with you apart from the shipment
Before loading day, pack a bag that will not go in the container: your phone, passport, the original papers customs will want, medicines you need and any cash. These travel with you on the plane, not in the cargo.
Moving furniture for returning Turks and residents from Madinah to Turkey
Turkish customs treat two groups differently. The first is a Turk leaving the Kingdom to settle back home: after two continuous years abroad, or five years out of the last ten, their used household effects go in duty-free, provided they obtain the relocation certificate from Turkey’s diplomatic mission in the Kingdom, whether in Riyadh or Jeddah, the cargo lands within the permitted window (with them, up to two months earlier, or in the half-year after arrival), and they turn up for the inspection personally. Television sets still pay the “bandrol” fee despite the exemption.
The second group is non-Turks moving to live in Turkey, such as Arab families based in Madinah. Customs first want a Turkish residence or work permit, then a Turkish tax ID, then proof of a lasting home: an annual lease stamped by a notary, or the deed to a property. If something is missing, the fallback is temporary import secured by a deposit or bond, or paying the taxes. Neither group’s exemption covers new items, duplicate appliances or anything left in its box; those pay duty and 20% VAT.
Confirm the conditions before shipping
Treat this as the general picture; the specifics can shift with your circumstances. Ask Turkish customs or your consulate before loading day, and we will tick your documents off against the list before the box is closed. Read more: used household goods customs in Turkey; for whole households: furniture moving from Saudi Arabia to Turkey.
Car shipping from Madinah to Turkey
Our first question before taking any car to Turkey is whether customs there will let it in. Permanent entry is in practice limited to Turks returning after two or more years away, with a private, non-commercial vehicle built within the last three model years, which has been on the registration records in their name abroad for half a year or longer before their most recent entry, and which they declare within six months of arriving; after that they must wait five years to do it again. Only the customs duty is forgiven. ÖTV and VAT still fall due, and ÖTV, tied to engine size and purchase price, may well come to more than the car is worth.
A foreign resident is usually allowed temporary import only, for the life of the residence permit, without selling or lending the car inside Turkey. So before confirming a booking we check each customer’s nationality and residence status, and we will not ship a car we know will be refused at the Turkish port.
Further reading: car shipping from Saudi Arabia to Turkey, plus our car shipping service.
Shipping parcels, books and student belongings from Madinah
Madinah is a city of study, and many Turkey requests come from students who have finished their courses and are heading home with whole libraries, cartons of clothes and laptops. These are mid-weight loads with two solutions: books and clothes go by sea in a shared container, while the laptop, official papers and certificates fly. Documents go from SAR 92, a flown parcel under 5 kg from SAR 138, SAR 365 for 5–20 kg and SAR 735 for 20–50 kg of clothing.
Bear in mind Turkey’s 30 kg ceiling on duty-paid personal parcels, which must not be commercial, and that orders from online shops are now cleared like any other import. Phones must never go in a parcel. See cartons and parcels shipping to Turkey. Traders sending dates, perfumes or carpets will find the commercial procedure in goods shipping from Saudi Arabia to Turkey.
Documents required for shipping from Madinah to Turkey
- Everyone: passport copy plus Saudi ID or iqama, a contents list with numbered items, and the Turkish receiver’s full name, address and phone.
- Returning Turkish citizens: relocation certificate from the consulate, family registry extract, e-Devlet travel record and a notary-stamped mandate for the customs broker.
- Foreign residents: Turkish residence or work permit, tax number, and a one-year notarised lease or title deed.
- Goods: the sales invoice and packing list, an origin certificate, and the Turkish buyer’s tax ID.
- Cars: registration, export plates, Fasah declaration and proof of the Turkish exemption conditions.
Your bill of lading must carry your name precisely as the passport shows it. We take care of the Saudi export filing and coordinate with the customs broker at the Turkish end. See also our customs clearance service.
Prohibited and restricted items for Turkey
- Weapons, ammunition, explosives, narcotics and drones: banned.
- Currency and securities, pornography, live animals and plants: banned.
- Aerosols, paint, bleach, gas cylinders and anything flammable: not allowed in household goods.
- Meat products and food in household goods: usually refused.
- Jewellery and precious stones: not accepted with furniture, so carry them yourself.
- Mobile phones: banned in parcels and courier shipments.
- Medicines need a prescription, and cosmetics or cleaners must stay at normal family amounts.
- Antiquities, historic manuscripts and state-subsidised products: barred from export by Saudi rules.
Steps for shipping from Madinah to Turkey
- 1Photograph your goods and name the destination
Send photos, your district and the Turkish city to 0568829975. - 2Split the shipment
We suggest what flies from Madinah airport and what goes by container from Jeddah. - 3Prepare the papers
Exemption papers, Turkish residence documents, or goods and car paperwork. - 4Packing and inventory
Dismantling, sea-proof wrapping, numbering and a list with appliance serial numbers. - 5Road to Jeddah and export
A truck to Jeddah Islamic Port and an export declaration on Fasah. - 6Voyage and clearance
Sailing through Suez, then clearance at the Turkish port. - 7Delivery
To your home in İzmir, Istanbul or any city, with reassembly of anything taken apart.
Price your Madinah to Turkey shipment
Send photos, an approximate weight and the Turkish city, and we will suggest the most economical split between plane and container.
How is the cost of shipping from Madinah to Turkey calculated?
Air cost is based on chargeable kilos; sea cost on cubic metres, per item or per container. On top come the packing type, the road inside Turkey from port to your city, access at both ends, and insurance and clearance based on the value of the goods.
Worked example: a student in Quba moving to Konya with a bedroom, a fridge, 30 kg of clothes, documents and a laptop. By sea through Mersin go the bedroom (from SAR 920), the fridge (from SAR 735) and the clothing (from SAR 735). Flying are the documents (from SAR 92) and the laptop, packed as a parcel under 5 kg (from SAR 138). The approximate total is about SAR 2,620 before insurance and clearance, with the final price set after a survey.
Cheapest way to ship from Madinah to Turkey
- Send heavy items in a shared container and keep the plane for light, urgent things.
- Choose the arrival port nearest your Turkish city: Mersin for Konya, Ankara and Adana, İzmir for the Aegean coast.
- Dismantle furniture and cut the carton count by using uniform sizes.
- Compare the “complete household” rate with a private container once you pass a tonne.
- Do not ship new goods in their boxes, as they attract duty and VAT.
Common mistakes when shipping from Madinah to Turkey
- Flying furniture because the airport is close, then paying several times the sea price.
- Putting the laptop and original papers in the container and waiting a month for them in Turkey.
- Packing a phone in a parcel.
- Assuming any car can enter Turkey.
- Leaving appliance serial numbers off the inventory.
- Trusting promises of a direct overland service to Turkey.
Why Gulf International Shipping from Madinah?
Air and sea in one booking
We split your shipment between Madinah airport and Jeddah port to save you money.
Below published prices
Every item starts under the lowest rate advertised for your city.
The right port
Mersin for the south and Ankara, İzmir for the Aegean, Marmara ports for Istanbul and Bursa.
Inventories Turkish customs accept
Brands, serial numbers and the returnee and resident paperwork.
Straight talk on cars
We will not book a car we know cannot enter.
Direct contact
0568829975 by phone and WhatsApp.
Related Turkey articles
- Country overview: shipping company from Saudi Arabia to Turkey
- Where the containers sail from: shipping company from Jeddah to Turkey
- From Makkah: shipping company from Makkah to Turkey
- From Tabuk: shipping company from Tabuk to Turkey
- Riyadh customers: shipping company from Riyadh to Turkey
- Useful pages: international furniture moving, sea freight, request a quote and destinations we ship to
