Nowruz is known as the Persian New Year, which begins on the spring equinox, marking the first day of Farvardin, the first month of the Iranian solar calendar. It is celebrated worldwide by various ethnolinguistic groups and falls on or around March 21 of the Gregorian calendar. In 2021, Nowruz fell on March 20.
The celebration of Nowruz is due to various reasons, taken from popular stories in the cultures that celebrate it, and the sayings agree that it is a spring festival, celebrated by the new life cycle after the end of winter
so we will start our trip from Baghdad and visit the highlighted places in each city in the south after that we will head to Erbil and enjoy the Nowruz among the locals enjoying the vibes of the Nowruz celebration among the locals having fun and dancing on the Kurdish traditional music
Day 1 | Baghdad
Pickup from the airport and go to the hotel
There will be no activity this day only for regrouping
Overnight in Baghdad
Day 2 | Baghdad
09:00 leave Hotel
09:20 Visit Liberation Square one of the main squares in Baghdad where This square played an important role in some of the revolutions, marches and uprisings that took place in the city of Baghdad,
10:00 am Then we will have a short boat trip over Tigris river and cross the river and Al-Mutanabi street : Al-Mutanabbi Street is considered the oldest cultural market for the people of Baghdad, where the trade of books of all kinds and fields flourishes.
Al-Qishla It is one of the heritage buildings of Baghdad, which is located in the building of the Al-Muwaffaqia School. Its construction dates back to the second half of the nineteenth century AD, during the Ottoman era.
Al-Mustansiriya School An ancient school that was founded in the time of the Abbasid state in Baghdad in 1233 by the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mustansir Billah.
Then we will walk through the Old bazar And see also the copper Market.
then we will have some rest to drink the traditional Iraqi tea and Dried lime tea in Al-shabander It is one of the most famous old cafes in Baghdad.
12:30 pm Lunch time
03:00 pm Visit Al-Kadhimiya is one of the important neighborhoods in Baghdad and enjoy the beautiful night market and also includes the Al-Kadhimiya holy Shrine (golden Dome) The tomb of Imam Musa al-Kadhim and his grandson, Imam Muhammad al-Jawad, one of the most prominent Muslims and the seventh imam of Twelver Shiites.
Dinner Time
Overnight in Baghdad
09:00 checkout from the hotel
10:00 tour to the ancient ruinsof Babylon cradle of Mesopotamian civilization dated 18th – 6th BC, with the Hanging Gardens, that was supposed to be attached to the Palace of King Nebuchadnezzar. Appointed as Seven Wonders of Hellenic World, have a presence in various literature sources but its physical existence has never been proven
Saddam Palace nowadays Museum, Perched on top of Babylon, as the palace was inspired by the Babylonian palace of King Nebuchadnezzar.
Babylon Theater One of the most important Hellenistic monuments in the city of Babylon Specialists differ in determining the date of this building
Some of them say that Alexander the Great ordered the construction of the theatre, and some of them mention that Antiochus IV is the one who ordered it to be built for the Greek community to encourage them to hold sports.
Despite the destruction of the external structure, the Directorate General of Antiquities excavated the foundations, and then the building was completed with modern bricks over the original plan.
12:30 pm visit Borsippa Ziggurat According to the Talmud, this ziggurat is believed to be the Tower of Babel found in the Torah. It is believed that this ziggurat was for the worship of the goddess Nebu, the god of writing and wisdom at the Babylonians, who was the son of the god Marduk.
01:30 pm visit Al Kifl who is believed be the biblical prophet Ezekiel, The town was once a significant Jewish pilgrimage site and home to a community of Iraqi Jews until the late 1940s.
Go to Najaf City
02:00pm Go to restaurant and hotel for resting
See the sunset from high building over the Najaf cemetery(Wadi-us-Salaam) It is the most important tomb seen in the city of Najaf in Iraq, the largest cemetery in the world, containing nearly six million graves and was included in the World Heritage List .
Imam Ali holy shrine which contains the tomb of’Alī ibn Abī Tālib. He was a cousin of Muhammad and later became his son-in-law. The Shias consider Ali as their first Imam, and the Sunnis regard him as the fourth Sunni Rashid Caliph
Overnight in Najaf
Day 4 | Najaf Nasiriyah
08:00 am Checkout from the hotel Go to Samawah city
11:00 ziggurat Uruk “Al Warka” the first civilized city in the history of mankind around 4000 BC. During that period agricultural villages were built around the city of Uruk, and at that time it enjoyed military and economic power.
It is believed that the name of Iraq is derived from the name of this great city, and the city of Warka was the first city that was able to unite the states of the kingdoms, as its king, Lukal Zakizi, succeeded in uniting the warring kingdoms and establishing a great state whose borders are from the lower sea (now known as the Arabian Gulf) to the upper sea (Mediterranean Sea )
12:30 pm Go to Nasiriyah city
06:00 pm check-in Hotel
Overnight in Nasiriyah
Day 5 | Nasiriyah -Baghdad
08:00 am check out
09:00 am Marshes of Iraq are the largest wetlands in the Middle East. They not only provide habitat to hundreds of bird and fish species, but they are also home to thousands of Marsh Arabs are returning more and more to their historical heartland. Draining of The Marshes We stop to have some rest and drink the traditional tea and meet the locals and have some chat with them talking old stories, then we will take a boat trip using the old traditions boat called “shakhtura” through the maze of marshes and have the famous
12:00 pm lunch time and eat the famous masgouf (fish grilled using reeds instead of woods,) inside one of the houses build by reeds only called “almutheef”
2:00pm Back to Baghdad.
08:00 pm Arrive Baghdad overnight
Day 6 | Samarra – Erbil
08:00 am leave hotel
10:00 am visit Samarra spiral minaret One of the prominent distinctive Landmarks of Iraq because of its unique shape because of the ascending spiral conical design,
Al burqa Palace One of the historical palaces built by Caliph Abu al-Fadl Jaafar al-Mutawakkil as a palace for convalescence, rest and recreation at the time.
Kasr Al Mashouq An archaeological historical Abbasid palace built in the ninth century, and one of the most important monuments in Iraq because of its archaeological value. It is the palace mentioned by historians in the name of the “Al Mashouq” which means the lover.
12:00 pm Back to Erbil
06:00 pm Arrive Erbil and check-in Hotel
Day 7 | Erbil – Akra
10:00 : drive to akraand enjoy the vibes of the Nowruz celebration among the local people having fun and dancing on the Kurdish traditional music
Package Include
Accommodation
3/4 star Hotel accommodation double room sharing
Include Breakfast
The Hotels as below :
- Baghdad : Shanashel Palace
- Karbala : AwladAl Hasan Hotel
- Najaf : Agnar Hotel
- Nasiriyah : somerion Hotel
- Basra : Atlas Hotel
Transpiration
Greeting and pick up from inside the airport and returning to airport + car transportation include + airport taxs
Translation
Full-time translator and guide team
Team Fees
Accommodations for the team outside Baghdad
Entry Fees
All Fee and requiring Entry
Not include:
• Dining
• Flights
• Visa entrance fee
• Dining and boat trip in marshes (25$ per person )
• Insurances
• Spiritual drinks or smoking shisha
• Dining inside hotels
• PCR test
Notes:
the following policies :
1. adding new place that is not in the itinerary will be charged extra fee
2. customer must stick to the time of itinerary
3. the travel agency is not responsible for the following :
- closed sites or monuments, because Iraq is not a stable country sometimes the place that we are visiting is closed due to the changeable governmental policies that may be related to security, covid ,maintaining , violence or any other reason
- checkpoint delay
- road cuts, protesting
4. when visiting Mosques and Shrines Women will need to wear a scarf (provided by our team ) other places is fine to walk without any scarf .
5. ATM is available in Baghdad but its hard to find in many places.
6. The program can be submitted or delayed according to the conditions of the trip, depending on the arrival and departer time , traffic jams, or under any other circumstances.
7. The company is not responsible in case some places maybe closed during the trip for maintenance or for the COVID-19 reasons