Wednesday 16th March – Erbil

• Arrive at your convenience into Erbil – the capital and most populated city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq which is well connected from many countries within Africa and most of Europe.
• Those who arrive early can use this time to check out Erbil’s bazaar or visit the Erbil citadel, one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the whole world, with an opportunity to shop for souvenirs.
• Pre-tour meeting will be held at the lobby of Nova Sky Hotel at 6:00pm once the Southern Iraq group members arrive to discuss tour itinerary and to meet your fellow travellers and YPT guide.
• Dinner and drinks will be in Erbil’s Christian neighbourhood.
• Overnight in Erbil.

Thursday 17th March – Lalish – Duhok

Morning

• We begin the day nice and early for the two-hour drive to Lalish.  This is the most sacred town for the Yazidi people and is extremely interesting as it is now maintained by only a few families, waiting for the Yazidi refugees spread out all over the world to come back
• We then head to the Khanis archaeological site, here we can see cuneiform writings in the walls of what was a palace, pre-arabic times!
• Our next stop is at one of the world’s oldest churches built into the mountains in Alqosh.  Alqosh is technically part of Mosul and Iraq “proper”.  From the mountainside church, we will be able to see what used to the Peshmerga front line against ISIS. Inside the caves, we will learn more about the life of the monks who lived here and their self-mutilation practices.

Afternoon

• We head for lunch and a few beers in Alqosh, as luckily it is a Christian town!
• Following our slow, late lunch, we drive onwards to Duhok, which is a pleasant old town for our overnight stay.
• Walking city tour.
• Overnight in Duhok

Friday 18th March – Amadiya – Rawandas

Morning

• In the morning, we head to Amadiya, an ancient Jewish city and also home to one of Saddam Hussein’s former mountaintop palaces and is truly an amazing site.
• We spend a few hours exploring and admiring the breathtaking views and possibly getting to chat with some of the armed Peshmerga guards who keep the area safe from would-be invaders.
• We head to a locally famous cave restaurant for a traditional lunch.

Afternoon

• Following lunch, we embark on one of our longer journeys: the four-hour drive to Rawandas.  Stopping along the way for pictures at the Shamarda cave as well as for refreshments.
• Walking tour of Rawandas before we head for dinner and drinks.
• Overnight in Rawandas where we stay in our own cottages for a little cottage party!

Saturday 19th March – Sulaymaniyah

Morning

• Drive the famously scenic Hamilton road.  The road was built by AM Hamilton in the early 1930’s for what he hoped would unify the peoples of the region.  Well, in fact, the road has been fought over many times, especially during the war with Iran.
• We continue our journey stopping at various waterfalls and mountains for pictures. These include the ‘Geli Ali Beg’, so famous that it’s on the old 5-dinar note, as well as maybe stopping by the Dokan lake for a swim.

Afternoon

• Lunch at a countryside restaurant.
• We take another scenic drive of around 3.5 hours to the second major city of Iraqi Kurdistan, and the most important regarding tourism, Sulaymaniyah.  We will be stopping along the way for refreshments and picture opportunities.
• In the evening, we take a walk around this historical city, visiting its parks and bazaar.
• We head back to Sulaymaniyah to visit the Red Prison. Here, Saddam’s regime imprisoned and tortured Kurds suspected of being anti-baath. We can visit the prisons and torture cells used at the time. There is also a new part of the museum dedicated to the very recent war against ISIS (If we don’t have time, we can do this the next morning)
• Sulaymaniyah has a great street food scene so we go to the bazaar to try some of the local specialities for dinner.
• Overnight in Sulaymaniyah.

Sunday 20th March – Halabja – Sulaymaniyah – Erbil

Morning

• We may be able to take the one-hour drive to Halabja.  Halabja was the scene of the mass chemical attack on the Kurdish people, perpetrated by the Baathist regime.  Here, we will look at the various shrines to the scene of this atrocity, as well as visit a local museum.
• Visit Sulaymaniyah Museum, the second largest in Iraq and featuring artefacts from the prehistoric era all the way to the Ottoman period, even featuring a tablet from the ancient Epic of Gilgamesh.

Afternoon

• Hit the road and start making our way back to Erbil, hopefully stopping off at the ancient Koya caravanserai (roadside inn) and nearby Koya fortress
• PCR test before our lunch
• We head to the Citadel of Erbil (possibly tracing the roots of its existence back to before 2300BC), the local textile museum and antique bazaar. We then head into the ancient bazaar where your local guide will help you find some last-minute bargains.
• Overnight in Erbil

Monday 21st March – Erbil – Akre: Newroz Festival – Erbil

Morning

• After breakfast, we again hit the road, this time heading to the city of Akre, famed for its celebrations of the Newroz festival which just happens to be today! The city is believed to have been continuously inhabited since at least the 7th century. Here we’ll get to see the old fortress and the grand Mosque, one of the oldest in Iraq.
• Lunch at the 30-meter high Sipa waterfall, just a mile outside of Akre.

Afternoon

• Newroz is the most important holiday of the year for Kurds and we will be joining in celebrations where possible and appropriate
• In the early afternoon we will make our way through the gathering crowds to situate ourselves in at the best location for viewing the evening festivities of Newroz. Thousands of people from throughout Kurdistan visit Akre for this festival. We will watch as a long procession makes it way up a mountain across the valley to light the traditional fire at the top of the mount.
• Late in the evening, we’ll head back to Erbil.
• It is fair to say you do not know a country until you have done a bar crawl, so we finish our time in Iraqi Kurdistan by seeing it off with a last night celebration
• Overnight in Erbil.

Tuesday 22nd March – Erbil

• Breakfast at hotel
• Tour concludes with airport drop-off arranged according to your flight details – YPT is also able to arrange post-tour accommodation or advice for flights.

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