10-Day Iraq Grand Tour — Basra to the Kurdish Highlands
Day 1 — Arrival in Basra
Fly into Basra. Your guide meets you at the airport gate then transfer to hotel
Day 2 — Basra
The 7th-century Imam Ali Mosque, then the Basra Museum, set in a former palace with a fine Mesopotamian collection. Evening boat cruise on the Shatt al-Arab, where the Tigris and Euphrates meet, past rusting presidential yachts. Overnight Basra.
Day 3 — Marshes & Ur
The Mesopotamian Marshes, the Middle East's largest wetlands, famed for their birdlife. Meet the Marsh Arabs and step inside a *mudhif*, a reed house built by a 4,000-year-old technique. Lunch is *masgouf*, river fish grilled over an open reed fire. Then the Ziggurat of Ur (c. 21st century BC). Overnight Nasiriyah.
Day 4 — Najaf, Uruk & Karbala
Najaf's shrine complex — gold domes, mirrorwork, tilework — and Wadi al-Salam, 600 hectares of extraordinary landscape. Then Uruk, the world's first true city, where writing and urban life began 5,000 years ago; the temple terraces of Inanna and Anu still mark the skyline. Evening in Karbala. Overnight Karbala.
Day 5 — Babylon & Baghdad
Babylon: the Ishtar Gate with its glazed dragons and bulls, the processional way, and hilltop views over the ancient city. En route to Baghdad, Ctesiphon's Taq Kasra — the largest single-span brick vault in the world. Overnight Baghdad.
Day 6 — Baghdad
The Abbasid Palace and Mustansiriya School, one of the world's oldest universities. Al-Mutanabbi Street, the booksellers' quarter, with tea in an old café. The Martyrs' Monument and the 14th-century BC ziggurat of Aqar Quf. Dinner with a local family.
Day 7 — Samarra & Hatra
The Great Mosque of Samarra and its 52-metre spiral Malwiya minaret, once the largest in the world, plus the golden-domed Al-Askari shrine. Then Hatra, the finest surviving Parthian city — a desert caravan capital blending Roman and Eastern design. Overnight Mosul.
Day 8 — Mosul, Lalish & Alqosh
Mosul, ancient Nineveh, Assyrian capital and home of Ashurbanipal's library. The old souq and the Old City. Then Lalish, the Yazidis' valley sanctuary of conical spires, and Alqosh with its cliffside monastery. Evening arrival in Erbil.
Day 9 — Erbil
Mar Mattai monastery, high on the mountain with its Syriac manuscripts. Then the Erbil Citadel, inhabited since at least the 23rd century BC, the old bazaar and the Mudhafaria Minaret. Below lies the plain of Gaugamela, where Alexander defeated Darius III in 331 BC. Overnight Erbil.
**Day 10 — Rawanduz Valley
Into the mountains: Ali Beg Waterfall and the dramatic Hamilton Road. A walk along the river gorge, ending with a riverside picnic.
