Archaeology
The first cities
Ur, Babylon, Samarra, Hatra and Ashur, each of them a capital of something. Go early or late; the middle of the day is for museums.
Ways to travel
Experiences
Iraq rewards the specific. Not “a tour of the country” so much as a week of particular things — a temple at dawn, a fish on the riverbank, a boat before the wind picks up.
Six ways in
Most itineraries mix two or three of these. The archaeology is the reason many people come and rarely the thing they talk about afterwards — that tends to be a meal, or a conversation, or an hour on the water.
Food
Masgouf and the long lunch
Carp split and stood around an open fire, kubba, dolma, and the tea that follows all of it. Eating is the national pastime and the fastest way in.
Outdoors
The high country
Gorges, waterfalls and walking country in the Kurdistan Region, best from March to May and again through the autumn.
Pilgrimage
The shrine cities
Najaf, Karbala, Kadhimiya and Samarra draw millions a year. The courtyards are open to visitors of any faith, with a little care over dress.
Wildlife
Mornings in the Ahwar
Out at first light in a mashoof, between reed islands, with buffalo in the shallows and half of the birds of two continents passing overhead.
City life
Markets and bookshops
Al-Mutanabbi Street on a Friday, the copper souk, and the tea houses where the argument has been running since the 1950s.
Put it together
One country, a week at a time
Pick the thread that interests you and build the trip around it — the destinations gallery is arranged for exactly that.