7-day journey
7 Days in Ancient Mesopotamia
Walk through five thousand years of history — from the ziggurat of Ur to the gates of Babylon and the golden age of Baghdad.
- Duration
- 7 days
- Starts
- Baghdad
- Ends
- Baghdad
- Best time
- October – April
- Price
- From $1,850 per person
This journey follows the story of civilisation itself. You'll stand where writing began, walk the Processional Way of Babylon, sleep beside the marshes and end in the libraries and cafés of Baghdad.
Day by day
Your itinerary
- 1
Day 1 · Baghdad
Arrival in Baghdad
Welcome dinner of masgouf on Abu Nuwas Street beside the Tigris.
- 2
Day 2 · Baghdad
The Iraq Museum & Abbasid Baghdad
Treasures of Sumer and Assyria, Al-Mustansiriya and a Friday walk on al-Mutanabbi Street.
- 3
Day 3 · Babylon
Ctesiphon and Babylon
The great arch of Taq Kasra, then an afternoon among the ruins of Babylon.
- 4
Day 4 · Hillah → Nasiriyah
Borsippa, Kish & the road south
The ziggurat of Borsippa, then south across the plains.
- 5
Day 5 · Ur
Ur of the Chaldees
The great ziggurat and the royal tombs, traditional home of Abraham.
- 6
Day 6 · Chibayish
The Marshes
Sunrise by mashoof boat, lunch in a reed mudhif.
- 7
Day 7 · Baghdad
Return & farewell
Return flight or road transfer to Baghdad for departure.
Destinations on this journey
Baghdad & Central Iraq
Baghdad
The City of Peace on the Tigris — once the greatest centre of learning in the world, today a vibrant capital of book markets, riverside cafés and golden-domed shrines.
Baghdad & Central Iraq
Babylon
The legendary city of Hammurabi and Nebuchadnezzar, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where the foundations of the ancient world still stand.
Southern Iraq
Basra
The Venice of the East — a port city of canals, date palms and the Shatt al-Arab, gateway to the marshes and home of Sinbad's legend.
Mesopotamian Marshes
The Mesopotamian Marshes
A UNESCO-listed world of water, reeds and water buffalo — home of the Ma'dan people and their extraordinary reed architecture.
Read before you go
Stories24 September 20261 min read
A Night in the Marshes
Buffalo at dawn, reeds at dusk — what it's like to sleep in a mudhif in Chibayish.
By Omar Hassan
History22 August 20261 min read
Walking the Processional Way of Babylon
Standing in Nebuchadnezzar's city — a historian's walk through Babylon.
By Dr. Layla Nasser
Make this journey yours
Change the pace, add a destination or travel on your own dates — our team will tailor it for you.