The world's longest rally competition started at Sultanahmet Square in Istanbul. The participants will finish in the capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, reports Bolshaya Aziya.

The competition is organized by the Friendship and Peace East-West Rally Association with the support of the European Union and the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

At the opening ceremony of the rally, the president of the Association, Nadir Serin, said that 30 motorists from seven countries, including Turkey, will take part in the competition. The participants will travel through Iran, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, China and finish in Mongolia. Their route, Nadir Serin added, will be the third route laid through Central Asia.

The rally will end on August 28.