2023
• Arrive in Baghdad.
• Take a taxi to the hotel and check in before meeting in the evening.
• Overnight in Baghdad.
• Full-day city tour of Baghdad.
• We will visit the National Museum with its collections that are considered among the most important in the world.
• We will also visit the Martyr's Monument and Imam Musa al kazim mausoleum.
• Explore the historic Al-Rasheed and Al-Mutanabi streets before taking a boat ride on the Tigris River and then enjoying an Iraqi tea at the famous Al Shabander Café.
• Overnight in Baghdad.
• Visit Taq Kasra, also known as the Arch of Ctesiphon, dating back to between the 3rd to 6th century.
• Next we will pay a visit to Dur Kurigalzu, an ancient city situated between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
• Overnight in Baghdad.
• Travel to Samarra to explore the city.
• We will pay a visit to The Great Mosque of Samarra and walk to the top of the 9th centuryspiral Minaret for a breath-taking scenic view.
• Afterwards we will visit the Palace of the Caliph, built by the Abbasid caliph Al-Mu'tasim in 836 AD and now a UNESCO heritage site.
• Overnight in Baghdad
• Head out to explore the ruins of the ancient Babylonian Empire's capital city.
• Explore Saddam Hussein's former Palace.
• Drive to Karbala and visit the Mausoleum of Imam Hussain the Grand Son of prophet Mohammed and the Shrine of Imam Abbas.
• Explore the city in the evening.
• Overnight in Karbala.
• Departure from Karbala towards Najaf.
• We will visit the Wadi-al-Salaam Cemetery, aka the 'Valley of Peace' and the world's largest cemetery, with over 6 millions burials.
• Afterwards we will visit the Imam Ali Shrine, one of the holiest Islamic sites in the world.
• Depart for Nassiriya where we will spend the night.
• Today we will visit the Great Ziggurat of Ur, built during the Early Bronze Age.
• Next we will visit the Mesopotamian marshes; once the largest wetland in the Middle East and home to an ancient civilization of Marsh Dwellers known as the Madan.
• We will then visit the Tree of Knowledge, aka Adam's tree from the Garden of Eden. Here we will see the meeting of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
• Overnight in Basra
• We will visit the old town of Basra and the museum with its Mesopotamian, Babylonian and Persian collections.
• We will then take a boat ride through the Shat-al-Arab river, visiting the
private yacht of Saddam Hussein and see the many war ruins.
• Tour ends in the late afternoon.