Ukraine is beautiful and Ukrainians are very friendly, in opposite to what some people might tell you - again it's the media spreading the false information! Also the costs of living are extremely low. A nice dinner in Lviv (in a restaurant) will cost you roughly 2 - 3 bucks. Do not forget about the beer (probably the best I ever tasted), which is less than a buck! Only the border with Poland seemed pretty sketchy :)

I'm planning going the other way towards Morocco.

That was my first guess, but since Syria is way closer, I thought that'd be your choice.

I want to go along the western Sahara.

I have a friend from Chad who told me a lot about Sahara :) He used to for the military picking up leftovers from the war hidden under the sand. I'd really love to tour over there as well!