Istanbul Ankara TURKEY Izmir Syrian refugees 400,000 100,000 1,000 As of March 31 Istanbul 400,000 TURKEY 100,000 1,000 Syrian refugees As of March 31 The New York Times | Turkish Ministry of Interior

With the main refugee route cut off, what’s next?

More than one million people have passed through Turkey en route to Europe since the beginning of last year. Most were coming from war-torn countries, and about half were Syrians. Under a new agreement, Europe is sending refugees back to Turkey if they enter Greece illegally. In exchange, the European Union offered Turkey 6 billion euros (about $6.8 billion) to help with the crisis.

Now Turkey is scrambling to create long-term solutions for millions of people it had expected to house temporarily. Last week, the cease-fire in place in Syria since late February started to give clear signs of crumbling. Renewed fighting in Idlib and Aleppo Provinces has displaced tens of thousands in areas near the Turkish border.

HUNGARY ROMANIA SERBIA BULGARIA ITALY The E.U. began sending irregular migrants back to Turkey on April 4 GREECE TURKEY Alternative routes could challenge the agreement Mediterranean Sea HUNGARY FRANCE RUSSIA ITALY ROMANIA SERBIA Black Sea BULGARIA Istanbul The E.U. began sending irregular migrants back to Turkey on April 4 GREECE TURKEY TUNISIA Alternative routes could challenge the agreement IRAN SYRIA Tripoli Mediterranean Sea IRAQ Benghazi LIBYA Alexandria EGYPT HUNGARY ITALY ROMANIA SERBIA Black Sea BULGARIA Istanbul The E.U. began sending irregular migrants back to Turkey on April 4 GREECE TURKEY Alternative routes could challenge the agreement SYRIA Tripoli Mediterranean Sea Benghazi LIBYA Alexandria EGYPT HUNGARY ITALY ROMANIA SERBIA Black Sea BULGARIA Istanbul The E.U. began sending irregular migrants back to Turkey on April 4 GREECE TURKEY Alternative routes could challenge the agreement Tripoli Mediterranean Sea Benghazi LIBYA Alexandria EGYPT The New York Times

The scale and the length of the crisis pose challenges for assimilation.

Syrian children begging in the street of Istanbul in February. Bulent Kilic/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

An analysis released by several think tanks and aid groups in February listed hurdles for refugees: bureaucracy, unemployment, poor housing conditions and limited access to education.

As an example of the bureaucracy, the report noted, “a bank account was required to obtain a residence permit, while a residence permit was required to open a bank account.”

“Many people decided to leave for Europe in search of a better life, because life in Turkey is unbearable,” said Metin Corabatır, the president of the Asylum and Migration Research Center, based in Ankara.

More than a million Syrians live near the border, waiting.

TURKEY SYRIA Syrian refugees IRAQ 400,000 100,000 1,000 TURKEY Sanliurfa Gaziantep Refugee camps Antakya Aleppo Syrian refugees 400,000 SYRIA IRAQ 100,000 1,000 TURKEY Sanliurfa Gaziantep Refugee camps Antakya Aleppo Syrian refugees 400,000 SYRIA IRAQ 100,000 1,000 The New York Times | Turkish Ministry of Interior (refugee numbers as of March 31); U.S. State Department (camp locations)

“When people flee from war, they usually do so hoping to return home soon,” said Selin Unal, a spokeswoman for the United Nations refugee program in Turkey. “They move nearby, like just across the border, where they can keep an eye on their homes and livelihoods.”

About 270,000 Syrians live in camps run by the Turkish government. They have access to health care and basic needs, but most cannot work and need a permit to leave the camps.

Refugees waiting on the Syrian side of the border crossing near Akcakale, Sanliurfa Province, last June. Sedat Suna/European Pressphoto Agency

In the last major round of fighting near the border — the Syrian government’s Russian-backed assault on insurgents in northern Aleppo Province in February — Turkey took a new, drastic step, effectively closing the frontier.

Tens of thousands of people were trapped on the Syrian side, crammed into already crowded camps. And that refugee flow was just a small fraction of what could come in the event of an all-out battle for the divided city of Aleppo, where well over a million people still live, a prospect that seems more likely by the day.

Many refugees want to try to build their lives in Turkey.

Most Syrian refugees in Turkey are living along the southeastern border with Syria. But more than one million people are spread throughout the country, in cities and in rural areas. Istanbul alone has nearly 400,000 registered Syrians, according to the Turkish government.

Syrian refugees are under temporary protection status. They have access to health and education through a provisional identity card. But they do not have internationally recognized refugee status or a path to citizenship.

Samer Alkadri, a Syrian painter and graphic designer from Damascus, outside the cafe he opened in Istanbul in December. Tara Todras-Whitehill for The New York Times

In January, the Turkish government announced that it would start issuing work permits for people under the protection status, an important step to ensure the viability of the deal with the European Union. Many refugees are learning the language and opening businesses in the country.

Ayman Aboday, 18, from Damascus, creates sand art for tourists in Istanbul. Tara Todras-Whitehill for the New York Times

Of the 700,000 school-age Syrian children in Turkey, fewer than half are enrolled. The Turkish government is developing a plan to try to close the gap, including creating schools that will employ Syrian teachers and teach in Arabic.