{"id":51223,"date":"2023-12-11T14:05:30","date_gmt":"2023-12-11T14:05:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mircorp.com\/?p=51223"},"modified":"2025-02-19T17:52:09","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T17:52:09","slug":"touring-in-iraq-and-kurdistan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mircorp.com\/touring-in-iraq-and-kurdistan\/","title":{"rendered":"Touring in Iraq and Kurdistan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A Fresh Perspective on the Middle East\u2019s Mesopotamian Heartland <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
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Cruising through the Mesopotamian marshes of southern Iraq. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

MIR Tour Manager Michel Behar<\/a> led two of our trips to Iraq in the fall of 2023, including Modern Mesopotamia<\/a>. We asked Michel to describe the experience and to highlight some of his favorite spots and experiences in Iraq.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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A MIR group approaches one of the ziggurats of ancient Mesopotamia. Photo credit: Michel Behar<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

In October 2023, I led the inaugural two MIR small group tours through Iraq. The first focused on northern Kurdish areas of the country, similar to our Essential Kurdistan<\/a>. The second, Modern Mesopotamia<\/a>, focused on Baghdad and southern Iraq. Both tours had good-sized groups of participants from diverse backgrounds all across the U.S. We had a fantastic time, learned a lot about both modern Iraq and its ancient history, and benefited from some of the recent improvements to travel infrastructure in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I first scouted southern Iraq and Kurdistan in 1989, just when the Iran-Iraq War was coming to an end and a year before Iraq invaded Kuwait. Baghdad was peaceful at that point and the hostilities in Kurdistan had temporarily ceased. The country still felt raw though, with indications of recent conflict all around. I remember seeing razed villages from a local bus, pointed out to me by my Kurdish traveling companions as evidence of Saddam Hussein\u2019s brutality. Basra was off limits because of the ongoing threat from Iran. There were no tourists back then \u2013 just a few expats and guest workers from Bangladesh and Egypt. I was outnumbered by government minders, likely wondering why I was even there. It was a challenging time to be in Iraq.<\/p>\n\n\n

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