Iraq – Highlights Tour

Itinerary

Day 1 – Baghdad

• Arrive at your own convenience at the hotel in Baghdad (we will provide instructions).
• 8:00 AM – Meet up with our local guide who will give an introduction on travelling in Iraq.
• Firdos Square, this square holds historical significance as the site where Coalition forces toppled Saddam’s statue.
• Al-Mutanabbi street, this is the famous book street, here used to gather all the intellectuals.
• National Iraq Museum housing artifacts from Mesopotamian, Persian, and Islamic civilizations.
• Al-Mustansariya School, this used to be the most important university in the Islamic world.
• Al Safafeer copper market operating since the 800s, making it the world’s oldest continuously running market.
• Highlight: Al Shaheed Monument, an imposing structure commemorating the first Gulf War.
• If time permits we’ll take a quick tour around at Tahir Square and Former Camp Al-Adala (where Saddam was hanged) and try to catch a glimpse of the crossed swords, which are located in the off limits green zone.
• Overnight stay in Baghdad.

Day 2 – Baghdad – Ctesiphone – Agargouf Ziggurat – Karbala

• We get up early for our drive to the Ctesiphone.
• Take a look at the old, gigantic brick arch, its under construction, but still an impressive sight to see.
• Drive to Abu Ghraib (not the prison).
• Agargouf Ziggurat, a popular place for relaxation during the Saddam Hussein period.
• Continue on south to Iraq’s holiest city of Karbala.
• Al Abbas Mosque, the place where Abbas ibn Ali is buried.
• Imam Hussein Shrine, the place where Imam Hussein is buried.
• Overnight stay in Karbala.

Day 3 – Karbala – Babylon – Najaf

• Drive to Babylon.
• Highlight: Guided tour of the ruins of Babylon, including the Hanging Gardens and the Tower of Babel.
• Palace of Saddam Hussein, on top of a hill in the centre in Babylon.
• We continue to Najaf.
• House of Imam Ali. Imam Ali was the son-in-law and nephew of the prophet Mohammed. This is where he was murdered.
• Kufa Mosque, one of the oldest mosques in the world.
• Visit to the ceremony at the Imam Ali Shrine. Imam Ali is buried here.
• Overnight stay in Najaf.

Day 4 – Najaf – Marshes – Basra

• Wadi-e-salam Cemetery, probably the largest Islamic cemetery in the world.
• We leave Najaf and head South.
• Highlight: Visit to the ziggurat of Ur. An imposing structure in the middle of the desert.
• Drive to the Marshes (wetlands).
• Boat trip through the wetlands, with the famous ‘floating villages’.
• See the confluence of the Euphrates and the Tigris river, next to it is the Tree of Adam & Eve.
• Drive to Basra.
• Overnight stay in Basra.

Day 5 – Basra – Baghdad

• Highlight: Ashar & Shanashil Al Basra (Old Basra).
• Boat trip on the Shatt Al Arab River, where we see several shipwrecks.
• Former Palace of Saddam Hussein.
• Long drive back to Baghdad, just outside of Basra we’ll visit the vast Basra British War Memorial.
• Overnight stay in Baghdad.

Day 6 – Baghdad – Samarra – Mosul

• Getting up early for the drive to Samarra, on the way we drive through villages that have been destroyed in the fight against IS. 
• Highlight: See the Samarra Minaret (also known as the Great Mosque of Samarra). If you like you can walk to the top.
• We continue north, towards Mosul.
• If possible we will stop at the famous UNESCO sight of Hatra. Permissions are not always granted, but we will try it.
• Arrival in Mosul.
• Overnight stay in Mosul.

Day 7 – Mosul – Bakhida – Erbil

• See the remains of the Al-Nuri mosque, the most famous landmark of Mosul.
• Visit both the Church of Mar Toma, also recognized as St. Thomas, and the Al Tahira Church.
• Bash Tapia castle, a 12th-century fortress within Mosul’s city wall.
• We leave Mosul and head for the Christian village Bakhida. This village was largely destroyed by ISIS, but has completely been restored.
• Visit the Church Square, the place where the Pope gave a mass on his historic visit to Iraq in March 2021.
• The village is full with churches, but we’ll visit the Immaculate Church. An impressive place where you can still see bullets and bullet holes from the ISIS-time.
• We leave Bakhida and continue towards Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.
• Arrival in Erbil and end of the tour.
• OR: join the Kurdistan Newroz Tour.