Monday 26th December – Erbil

Morning

• 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.

Afternoon

• Early birds can take the time to visit and buy souvenirs at the famous old bazaars around the city or go to the Citadel of Erbil, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with more than 6,000 years of history. The guide will assist with money exchange.
• Welcome dinner, orientation and get-together for travellers and their guide at 6:00pm at the lobby of Hotel Grand Erbil.
• Explore the nightlife in the city. Erbil has some of the best nightlife in the Middle East, often compared to that of Beirut in Lebanon.
• Overnight stay at the hotel.

Tuesday 27th December – Duhok

Morning

• The day starts with breakfast at the hotel, followed by a two-hour drive to Lalish, a place important to the Yazidis, an ethnic and religious minority still recovering from massacres and persecution perpetrated by ISIS. Be sure to bring your camera to take some photos of the breathtaking, rarely-seen sceneries along the way.
• The holiest place to the Yazidi people, Lalish contains the tomb of Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir, the founder of the Yazidi faith. Every year, thousands of Yazidis go on a pilgrimage and visit the town. For Christians, this is like visiting the tomb of Jesus in Jerusalem.
• We encounter bands of Kurdish Peshmerga from time to time along the way. This gives us the opportunity to engage in an interesting conversation with some of toughest and best warriors in the world about the recent war with ISIS, which everyone of us have seen or heard in the news.
• Next stop at the Rabban Hormizd Monastery in Alqosh. Built and carved into the mountains in 640 AD, this Chaldean Catholic monastery is one of the oldest monasteries/churches in the world. This part of Iraq was briefly controlled by ISIS, before its defeat in late 2017.

Afternoon

• Lunch topped with a few beers in Alqosh. Alqosh is a Christian town, so alcohol is allowed in this part of Iraq.
• Drive to Duhok, a pleasant old town known for its conservative, yet very warm and hospitable people.
• Walking tour of the town.
• In Duhok, don’t be surprised to meet total strangers who will invite you for tea at their homes. If you go to a restaurant, the owner will likely give you a big discount. Hospitality is the byword here.
• Dinner and overnight stay at the Kristal Hotel, a conveniently-located place to stay with DJ music for all tastes at the bar and adjacent nightclub.

Wednesday 28th December – Rawanduz

Morning

• Breakfast at the hotel, before heading to Amadiya, an ancient Jewish city that is home to one of Saddam Hussein’s former mountaintop palaces. The former Iraqi dictator, by the way, built a network of 80-100 palaces stretching from Baghdad to Al-Faw on the shores of the Persian Gulf.
• We spend a few hours exploring and admiring its intricate and luxurious interior and the breathtaking sceneries around and below the palace.
• This tour will also give you a glimpse of the lavish and opulent lifestyle of one of the most brutal leaders of the 21 st century, who ruled Iraq from 1979 to 2003.

Afternoon

• Lunch at a local fish restaurant serving the famous Masgouf and other Iraqi dishes. Masgouf was said to be the favourite of Saddam.
• Four-hour drive to Rawanduz, a city known for having one of the most beautiful natural spots and roads in Iraq. We will stop along the way to snap some pictures of the Shanidar Cave, an important archaeological site where remains of 10 Neanderthals were found between 1957 and 1961. Refreshments will be provided along the way.
• Walking tour of Rawanduz before we head to another local restaurant for dinner and drinks.
• Overnight stay at the Pank Resort.

Thursday 29th December – Sulaymaniyah

Morning

• Breakfast at the hotel, followed by an early departure towards the city Sulaymaniyah- one of Kurdistan’s most important cities. Sulaymaniyah is the birthplace of many great writers, poets, singers and scholars.
• Drive the scenic and historic Hamilton Road- built by the famous New Zealander civil engineer AM Hamilton in the 1930s. You cannot imagine that some of the heaviest battles in the Iran-Iraq War were fought in and around the Hamilton Road.
• Drive 3.5 hours to Sulaymaniyah. We will pass by many waterfalls and mountains along the way, including the famous Gali Ali Beg and Bekhal Waterfalls. We will stop from time to time for photo opportunities, refreshments and a swim by the dam in Dukan Lake.

Afternoon

• Lunch of biryani, masgouf, bamia kuba and some of the best kebabs in Iraq at the Dokan Kosrat Restaurant.
• Visit to the infamous “Red House”- see the prisons where Saddam’s secret police imprisoned and tortured the opponents of the Baathist regime, including many Kurds.
• Walking tour of the parks and other sights in the city, before heading to the bazaar for dinner and to experience Sulaymaniyah’s great street food scene. The street food scene in Sulaymaniyah is similar to the ones in Dubai, Cairo, Jerusalem and other street food ‘capitals’ in the Middle East.
• Overnight stay at the Khan Saray Hotel.

Friday 30th December – Halabja – Sulaymaniyah

Morning

• Visit the Sulaymaniyah Museum – also known as Slemani Museum, this is the second most important museum in Iraq after the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad. The museum houses tablets of the Epic of Gilgamesh and priceless artifacts from the prehistoric, late Islamic and Ottoman periods.
• Drive back to Erbil.
• Stop by old Koya Caravanserai and the Koya Fortress – fortress towns in Kurdistan left over from the time when the Ottoman Empire had control over almost the entire Middle East.

Afternoon

• Lunch at a local restaurant.
• Visit to the Kurdish Textile and Cultural Museum – opened in 2004, the museum is a repository for textiles produced in Kurdistan, some of which are several centuries old.
• Stop by the bazaar at the Citadel of Erbil for another shopping spree. Your local guide will help you find some last minute bargains.
• Dinner at a restaurant near the bazaar.
• Overnight stay at the Nova Sky Hotel.

Saturday 31st December – Sulaymaniyah – Erbil

Morning

• Breakfast at the hotel, before heading to the city of Shaqlawa to visit the Shrine of Raban Boya, a famous fertility shrine. Many childless couples from Iraq and other parts of the world visit the place in their desperate quest to have children.
• Lunch at a resort nearby that celebrates Christmas and other Christian holidays due to the large number of churches and Christians living in the town.

Afternoon

• Return to Erbil. Head to Christian suburb of Ankawa to visit some of its many cafes and bars.
• Join a rooftop party at the one of the best restaurants in Erbil to welcome the New Year. Watch an amazing fireworks display from the Citadel of Erbil while having dinner and drinks.
• Overnight stay at the hotel.

Sunday 1st January – Erbil

• Breakfast at hotel.
• Tour concludes – YPT is also able to arrange post-tour accommodation or advice for flights.

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