Kurdistan Program
Please note this is a sample tour itinerary that is popular with our guests. We are a custom tour company and will design each tour to fit your individual needs and desire.
You could combine it with Southern Iraq program.
Explore Kurdistan – The Cradle of Civilizations
8 days
Day 1 ~ Erbil
Arrive at Erbil International Airport (EIA) in the capital of Kurdistan – one of the world’s most secure and technologically advanced transportation facilities
You will be escorted to your hotel.
After checking into the hotel you will be given a briefing on your stay in Kurdistan while enjoying a complimentary welcome drink in the hotel lounge, followed by a welcome dinner this evening.
Day 2 ~ Erbil
After breakfast – depart for the 7000 year old Citadel of Erbil – the oldest continuously inhabited city on earth (There are cities perhaps as old but not continuously inhabited). Erbil Citadel was once a Sumerian City called Urbellum or Arbella (4 gods) and it is believed that Abraham passed through this city on one of his journeys. It once housed the Temple of the Goddess Ishtar. It was also the city Darius III fled to after facing defeat by Alexander the Great on the nearby plains of Gaugamela. UNESCO is currently undertaking a massive multi-hundred million-dollar restoration project.
Tour the famous Textile Museum in the Citadel. The museum, housed in a 220 year old residence features ancient Kurdish fighting tools, traditional dresses, handmade rugs from different regions and eras of Kurdish history, jewelry and photos. In addition to Kurdish antiquities there are a number of pieces from Iran and Turkey. At the Museums’ gift shop you will have an opportunity to acquire a sample of local crafts. Across from the Museum is a large and well-known antique shop where one can acquire a piece of Kurdistan’s history as well as its more modern crafts.
Explore the food market and covered Qaysari Bazaar where one can find jewelry, gold and silver, carpets, antiques, and many other interesting objects as well as tasty sweets and other delicacies.
We will briefly visit Choli Minaret, one of Erbil’s most famous landmarks dating to the Atabag period (12th century). The structure was built from burnt bricks and tiles imported from Egypt – a nation linked to Kurdistan in antiquity. Due to the long-term effect of deterioration, the essential part of the architecture has disappeared and thus the leaning minaret is the last survivor of Erbil’s most famous historical mosque. The site also marks the entrance to a large park with numerous statues of famous poets and writers including an imposing statue of ibn al-Mustawfi (1169-1239), Kurdistan’s greatest historian.
Day 3 ~ Duhok
Enjoy a buffet breakfast at the hotel’s main restaurant. Depart to the Dayro d-Mor Matay Monastery (St. Matthew’s Monastery/4th century) for a tour conducted by the Monastery’s monks. The Monastery is one of eastern Christendom’s most famous sites and apart from a few forced closures has been in continuous use for nearly 2,000 years. Depart the Monastery for Gaugamela – site of the famous battle between King Darius III and Alexander the Great. While standing on a hill (tel) overlooking the vast plain below and imagine the clash of arms that made Alexander the King of Persia and undisputed ruler of the civilized world.
See Jirwana – the oldest aqueduct and bridge ruin in the world built in the time of Sennacharib (690 BC). The site was once part of a vast complex that was built to water the gardens of Nineveh. Huge stones transported by hand from quarries hundreds of miles away are inscripted with the story of this amazing feat. Here you will find the secret of the, “hidden message of Sennacharib,” known by only a few living scholars in the world – join them in this amazing revelation.
Visit Lalish – pilgrimage site of the Yezidis. Learn about the ancient rituals of this people who are considered by many to be the remnant of the original religion of Kurdistan.
Lalish is one of the most unique destinations in the entire Kurdistan Region. It is a cultural and religious experience, as well as a place of calming, serenity, and natural beauty. This small mountain town is the holiest place for the heterodox ethno-religious Yezidi (Yazidi) community. It is the resting place for some of the most important figures in the Yezidi faith such as Sheik Adi (1070s-1162), who essentially codified Yezidi theology and balanced previously disparate teachings. Yezidis are expected and encouraged to make a six-day pilgrimage to Lalish in their lifetime in order to visit the tomb of Sheikh Adi and other sacred places in the small mountain village. The village is easily recognizable due to the famous conical structures (shrines).
In more recent years, and particularly since Yezidis have been in the news due to atrocities committed against them by ISIS, the holy village has become a tourist attraction for Kurds and international visitors alike in order to understand and gain insight into this persecuted minorities’ faith, culture, and traditions. There are only a few yearlong residents of Lalish who are tasked with maintaining the beauty of the place, though there are many Yezidis living in surrounding towns and villages who visit often, particularly on weekends. Most are quite willing to share their religion, culture, and traditions to outsiders.
Since the entire village is sacred, everyone must remove their shoes (you may wear socks). It is not a terribly large village, and the grounds are meticulously cleaned so visitors should not worry too much about stepping on anything that would be harmful. At every doorstep Yezidis believe there are angels waiting, so special care must be taken when entering any threshold—you must step over them. It is best not to wear blue since Yezidis generally do not wear that color though they will not be upset if you forget.
Yezidis believe Lalish is where Noah’s Ark rested after the great flood and life began anew and every year thousands of Yezidis journey to Lalish to drink the holy spring water flowing throughout the village. There is a great deal of controversy over the actual beliefs of this colorful and mysterious people. Some mistakenly call them “devil worshippers” which is far from true. Their teachings were recorded in the Meshef Resh (Black Books) among others, which included accounts of the creation. It is said of these revelations that, “Outsiders may neither read nor behold them” and the books are most often thought to be lost. Indeed the Yezidis are a closed society and one may neither convert to Yezidism nor marry outside of the faith. They are known as fierce warriors, which is not apparent when encountering them, as they are a gentle and hospitable people.
From here you will travel to Duhok and check into your Hotel.
Day 4 ~ Duhok
Breakfast in the hotel’s main restaurant. Visit Al Qush and see the tomb of Nahum the Old Testament Prophet which is situated next to the Mar Gorgis Monastery and Mar Mekha Churches (Fifth century AD) and a famous Monastery in the mountains above the tomb. Six hundred monks once inhabited the caves around the Monastery. Rabban Hormizd Monastery is an important site of the Chaldean Church. It is carved out of the mountains about 2 miles from Alqosh, Iraq, 28 miles north of Mosul (ancient Nineveh prophesied against by Nahum). Founded about 640 AD, the monastery has been the official residence of the patriarchs of the Eliya line of the Church of the East from 1551 to the 18th century, and after the union with Rome in the early 19th century, it became a prominent monastery of the Chaldean Church. It is named after Rabban Hormizd (rabban is the Syriac for monk) who founded it in the seventh century and is buried within the sanctuary.
Afternoon to visit Zakho, walk on the beautiful Delal Bridge and walk through the Jewish quarter.
Return to Duhok.
Day 5 ~ Rawanduz
A buffet breakfast will be served before departing for the ruins of Saddam Hussein’s palaces in the beautiful region of Sarsinc near Gara Mountain. There were ten palaces built as a complex where three meals were prepared in each of them every day in case Saddam showed up for a visit. They were replete with man-made lakes and miles of sandstone steps alongside streams that led into the mountains where rocket emplacements guarded the valley. At one time, movie stars and prominent people from around the world attended parties in the main palace and stayed in mansions (guest houses) that were part of the complex. While very little remains, one can see the grand plan he had for the region including what was to become a facility to host the Olympics. The Kurds drove Saddam’s army out with the help of America and its allies in 1991. At that time several of the palaces were intact. Visit the ancient city of Amadiya (dating from the Assyrian era) located on a high promontory above a breathtaking landscape and fed by a geothermal spring originating far below the mountain. 90 Km northeast of Dohuk; about 1400 m above sea level; surrounded by heights it was once an almost impenetrable fortress. The city Gate (Bab Zebar) is located in the eastern side of the City of Amadiya. Its width was 4 meters, built by Imaduddin Al- Zanki in 5-600 AD. A minaret is located in the middle of Amadiya. It is 30 meters high. The Islamic ornamentation (arabesque) is clearly seen on the minaret. It was built in the time of Sultan Hussein Wali and was part of an already existing ancient city. Pass by a third century synagogue and at the base of the mountain visit an ancient Egyptian madrassa reportedly founded by the University of Cairo centuries ago.
Visit the famous Neanderthal Cave, Shanidar, discovered in the 1950’s by an archeologist named Solecki. The discovery changed the world’s thinking about Neanderthals as it was found for the first time that Neanderthal dead had been buried with rituals including flowers and medicines once used to treat the deceased. Solecki dubbed these Neanderthals, “the world’s first flower children.”
Check into your Hotel.
Day 6 ~ Sulaymaniyah
Breakfast will be taken in the Hotel’s restaurant. We will then depart for Sulymaniya passing along Town of Rawanduz and the incredible Hamilton Road – one of the great engineering feats of the past centuries. Alexander Hamilton cut a path from Shaqlawa to Iran against insurmountable odds and in spite of the belief by most that it could not be done with the technology available and considered the animosity of the tribes that inhabited the region. See Bekhal and Geli Ali Beg water fall and the Rawanduz Gorge.
Upon arriving in Suly, we will visit the infamous Red House where Saddam tortured and killed thousands of Kurds. Normally a former inmate of the prison is available to escort the guests. The portal to the prison is through a cavern-like entrance covered with tiny mirrors representing the more than 185,000 “missing”—men, women, and children who Saddam “disappeared” during his reign of terror. Visit Suli’s bazaar and the famous Sha’ab teahouse and, time permitting, Goizha Mountain to see the city from above and on a clear day, a view for hundreds of miles to the Iranian border. Check into your hotel.
Day 7 ~Sulaymaniyah/ Halabja
Breakfast will be taken in the hotel’s main restaurant. Visit Sulaymani Museum, Kurdistan’s largest collection and Iraq’s second largest collection of antiquities. There are other museums in Kurdistan but nothing to equal this one in Sulaymani. The Director of the Museum is often on hand to explain some of the issues facing Kurdistan in the preservation of its antiquities including looters and corrupt officials who have sold the nation’s heritage to collectors abroad.
Depart for Halabja where on March 16, 1988, Saddam Hussein ordered the use of chemical weapons in attacking at least 24 villages in the Kurdish region with Halabja the most notorious. At least 5,000 people died as an immediate result of the chemical attack and it is estimated that a further 10,000 people were injured, or suffered long term illness. Before the war ended the Iraqis moved in on the ground and completely destroyed the town.
In March 2010, the Iraqi High Criminal Court recognized the Halabja massacre as genocide. Saddam was executed for other crimes just before he was to be tried in Kurdistan for his acts of atrocity – learn why. Today the city lives again – testimony to the Kurds amazing resilience and ability to survive the most brutal assault on their people and culture. The Halabja Museum and Memorial Cemetery is both fascinating and moving.
Visit the beautiful Ahmed Awa waterfall where the, “Three Hikers,” crossed to Iran. Return to Sulaymani.
Day 8 ~ Sulymaniya – Erbil
Breakfast in the hotel’s main restaurant. Depart for the Dokan Lake for kayaking. Lunch will be taken around the lake. Visit Koisinjak en route to Erbil, the ancient Caravanserai (hostel on the ancient Silk Road), and the old Jewish silver bazaar.
Depart for airport.