Thursday 10th March – Baghdad Arrival

Morning

• Arrive at your convenience into Baghdad – the capital city of Iraq which is well connected from many countries within the Middle East and most of Europe.
• Transfer to Baghdad Hotel using registered Airport taxis that can be arranged at the airport.
• The group will meet at the lobby of Baghdad hotel to discuss tour itinerary and to meet your fellow travellers and YPT guide.
• We begin the tour by visiting Al-Mutanabbi street located near the old quarter – this particular street is well known for bookselling and has often been referred to as the very heart of the Baghdad literacy and intellectual community.
• Visit Tahir Square which translates to Liberation Square – it’s Baghdad’s largest and most central square which commemorates the 1958 establishment of the Republic of Iraq.

Afternoon

• Lunch break in town to try local popular Iraqi dishes such as Kubba and Manti
• Explore Firdos Square – named after the Persian word “paradise”, this was the very square where the Coalition forces toppled Saddam’s statue in 2003.
• Visit the Former Camp Al-Adala – where the execution of Saddam Hussein took place in 2006, and the execution of his cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid, most famously known as Chemical Ali. The camp is known these days as Camp Justice.
• We finish off today’s tour by seeing the Victory Arch – also known as the Hands of Victory or the Crossed Swords. Built to commemorate the Iran–Iraq War and approved by Saddam himself, this monument stands 40 meters high and is located on the very edge of the green zone.
• Dinner in town and overnight at the high security “Baghdad Hotel” – complete with a swimming pool, gym and bar.

Friday 11th March – Baghdad – Ctesiphon – Baghdad

Morning

• Breakfast at hotel
• Visit the Iraq Museum which contains precious relics from the Mesopotamian, Persian and Islamic civilization. The museum was looted during and after the 2003 Invasion of Iraq but despite international efforts, only some of the stolen artefacts have been returned.
• Visit the incredible and well renovated Al – Mustansariya School – this is commonly known as the oldest school in the world.
• Walk through the adjoining copper market. A wonderful place for souvenirs and photography

Afternoon

• Lunch break in town – we recommend falafels as it’s quite popular amongst the locals
• Begin an hour drive outside of Baghdad  to the ancient city of Ctesiphon. These days all that’s left is the palace archway which is the largest single span vault of unreinforced brickwork in the world.
• We head back to Baghdad stopping for dinner in a local restaurant on the way
• Overnight and drinks at Baghdad Hotel

Saturday 12^th March – Samarra – Agargouf Ziggurat – Karbala

Morning

• This morning we head out straight after breakfast for the drive north to Samarra. We pass through multiple checkpoints along the route driving by many villages recently destroyed during fighting against ISIS.
• Trip highlight – Samarra is famous for its Minaret (also known as the Great Mosque of Samarra). We will climb the spiralling staircase all the way to the top for the 360 degree view. Not for the faint hearted!

Afternoon

• Continue 100km southwest of Baghdad to Iraq’s holiest city of Karbala – the shrines of Imam Husayn and Al Abbas are considered incredibly holy for Shi’ite Muslims, the same way as Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem.
• Before arriving at Karbala we’ll stop at Abu Ghraib – not to be mistaken as the prison which is long gone, but it’s abandoned and ancient site of Agargouf Ziggurat.
• Dinner and overnight at Karbala.

Sunday 13^th March – Karbala – Babylon – Najaf

Morning

• Breakfast at hotel and begin our day by visiting the Al Abbas mosque and Iman Husayn shrine – rens of millions of Shi’ite Muslims visit this sacred site twice a year, rivalling Mecca and Mashhad by the number of pilgrims annually.
• Drive further east to Babylon – once the largest and most important city in the world. Here we’ll tour the ancient ruins with our local expert and explore what’s left of the hanging gardens.

Afternoon

• Lunch break on the way
• Explore Saddam Hussain’s Palace – Perched right on top of Babylon, the dictator made sure he had the best view of the site. Here you’ll be able to walk through the abandoned palace and discover the looted remains of one of his many former palaces.
• Continue driving to Najaf – the third holiest city in Shia Islam. We’ll take in its most important site – the Imam Ali shrine.
• Dinner and overnight in Najaf

Monday 14^th March – Najaf – Ur – Marshes – Basra

Morning

• Breakfast at hotel and begin walking tour of Najaf, including Imam Ali’s house, the very spot where Imam Ali was killed, the Kufa Mosque and the UNESCO heritage site of the Wadi-e-salam cemetery.
• Drive south to visit the Moon Ziggurat of Ur, a neo-Sumerian construction first built over in the year 2000 BCE and which has gone through various restorations throughout history.

Afternoon

• Visit to the Mesopotamian Marshes – we’ll take a bout trip through the maze of marshes stopping by local villages for lunch and tea. The marshes once engulfed the whole swathe of Southern Iraq with numerous floating villages. Today the receding waters have led most families to change their livelihoods but we’ll still see and experience the few that remain.
• Continue driving onto Iraq’s southernmost city of Basra – most famous for its port.
• Dinner and overnight in Basra

Tuesday 15th March – Basra – Baghdad

Morning

• Breakfast at hotel
• Visit the Ashar and Shanashil Al Basra area to catch a glimpse of the old Basra: traditional style merchant houses with balconies leaning over the narrow streets.
• Take a cruise across the Shatt Al Arab river and see some shipwrecks from the Iran-Iraq War from the 1980s.
• Here we’ll also have another opportunity to explore yet another Saddam Hussain’s palace in Basra.

Afternoon

• After lunch in town we’ll begin our longest drive of the tour back north to Baghdad with plenty of rest stops along the way for refreshments, toilet breaks and photos.
• Before arriving in Baghdad, we’ll visit the vast Basra British War Memorial – the memorial commemorates over 40,000 Commonwealth forces members who died during the Mesopotamian Campaign, from 1914 to 1921.
• Arrive in Baghdad and check into your hotel room
• Farewell dinner and overnight at Baghdad Hotel

Wednesday 16th March – Baghdad – Erbil

• Breakfast at hotel
• Al Shaheed Monument – an imposing structure commemorating the first Gulf War.
• Visit to the Unknown Soldier Monument in Baghdad, an impressive spot to visit.
• Head to Baghdad International Airport and depart on our flight to Erbil International Airport, Iraqi Kurdistan.
• Welcome meal and drinks in Erbil and meet up with those joining us in Erbil for the Kurdistan adventure.
• Overnight in Erbil.

Thursday 17th March – 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 – Rawandas

Morning

• In the morning, we head to Amadiya, 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.
• 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.

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.
• 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

Morning

• We 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.

Afternoon

• Lunch of some of the best kebabs in all Iraqi Kurdistan
• 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
• Dinner in one of Sulyamaniyah finer restaurants to celebrate the end of our tour!
• Overnight in Sulaymaniyah.

Monday 21st March – Sulaymaniyah – Erbil: Newroz Festival 

Morning

• After breakfast, we again hit the road, this time back to Erbil, but instead of taking the short cut, we head via Dukan lake, where, according on time and weather, we’ll have the possibility to go on a short boat ride and checkout the dam. For a long time, this dam was nonoperational because the Iraqi army stole the chip monitoring it when they left.
• We then complete the scenic two-hour drive back to Erbil, again, stopping for refreshments and photos along the way.

Afternoon

• Newroz is the most important holiday of the year for Kurds and we will be joining in celebrations where possible and appropriate
• We head to the Citadel for sunset, which, although it has seen better days, is still worth a look.  We then head into the bazaar where your local guide will help you find some last minute bargains.
• We have a farewell dinner near the bazaar.
• 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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