Many of the freezing migrants trapped in the no-man's land between Belarus and Poland have passed through the Istanbul district of Aksaray, also popularly known as Little Damascus. 

It is a center for Turkey's five million migrants and refugees, most from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

There is constantly a huge craving for all conceivable travel routes to Europe.

Since Belarus sailed up as a new opportunity to reach an EU country, the travel agencies here were lightning fast in advertising flights to Minsk.

The smuggling networks took the opportunity to make money by arranging the necessary permits. 

Plan stopped

In an apartment in Istanbul, I meet a man who says that he earned a buck by arranging visas to Belarus for migrants. 

But now the business is over for this time.

Like the dream of Europe via Belarus for migrants.

After pressure, Lukashenko seems to be turning in the geopolitical offensive to give migrants free rein to the border. 

At the same time, the influx of migrants from the Middle East is stopped.

Several airlines have started stopping travel to Belarus with the obvious aim of trying to get on to Europe.

This will probably reduce the migrants' willingness to take the Belarus route and pay expensive money for visas, flights and hotels.

Simply because it seems rather hopeless to succeed.  

The hope has not gone out

The rumor of a passable road is spreading lightning fast in the home countries and the snowball effect is set in motion.

But the turn about a blocked road takes place with a certain delay.

Many migrants have now already paid large sums which they do not want to give up without at least trying. 

In Istanbul, I meet one of the migrants who refuses to give up.

A young man from Iraqi Kurdistan who paid about 30,000 kronor to get a visa to Belarus. 

But when he was to board the plane to Minsk on Friday, it stopped because the airline decided to deny travel to citizens from Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

But he refuses to give up and is now trying to get to Belarus by trying to enter from Egypt.

His chances of reaching Europe are minimal, but he says he has nothing to lose by trying.

And the man who made money from arranging visas to Belarus is not a bit worried about the loss of income.

He says that soon enough, new routes have been created into Europe. 

It is a lucrative industry to shoehorn into desperate people's desire to leave countries torn apart by war and corruption.

And given the situation in the Middle East, the customer base is inexhaustible.