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View all Baghdad toursFrom Baghdad: 8-Day Iraq Pilgrimage Tour
8-day trip from Baghdad visiting Christian Baghdad, Ctesiphon, Babylon and the Tower of Babel and South to the merchant churches of Basra. Operated by Fable Tour in Iraq.
Highlights
- Hear the liturgy sung in Syriac, a dialect of the Aramaic Christ spoke
From Baghdad: 8-Day Iraq Pilgrimage Tour: Key Facts
| Price | From $2600 per person |
|---|---|
| Duration | 8 days |
| Languages | English |
| Tour type | Guided Tour |
| Booking | Direct with the local operator — no OTA markup |
Choose from 1 available option
From Baghdad: 8-Day Iraq Pilgrimage Tour
Full description
A 8-day trip out of Baghdad taking in Christian Baghdad, Ctesiphon, Babylon and the Tower of Babel, South to the merchant churches of Basra and The Garden of Eden, the Marshes and Ur. There are 8 stops in all.
The running order is Christian Baghdad, then Ctesiphon, Babylon and the Tower of Babel, then South to the merchant churches of Basra, then The Garden of Eden, the Marshes and Ur, then North to Mar Behnam Monastery, and on from there.
The price covers 8-day guided tour, Accommodation in three stars hotel for 7 nights with breakfast, Transportation between cities and Visits to historical and religious sites. It does not cover lunch and Dinner, Personal expenses and Travel insurance, so budget for those separately. Two travellers pay $2600 together rather than $2600 each, because this is priced per party and not per head.
Tour Itinerary
The schedule below is a suggested plan and can be adjusted to suit your preferences.
Christian Baghdad
Start in the old quarter at the Meskenta Armenian Church, standing since the 1600s and the oldest surviving church in the capital. Continue to St Joseph’s Chaldean Cathedral, mother church of a patriarch who still carries the title Patriarch of Babylon, then to Our Lady of Salvation, rebuilt after the 2010 attack and full again today. Finish at St George’s, the only Anglican church in Iraq. Evening free on Abu Nawas Street or Al-Mutanabbi Street.
Ctesiphon, Babylon and the Tower of Babel
Stand beneath the great brick arch of Taq Kasra at Seleucia-Ctesiphon, seat of the Church of the East and the place where it organised itself as an independent church in 410 AD. Every congregation you meet this week traces back to this riverbank. Continue to Babylon for the Ishtar Gate, the Processional Way and the palace of Nebuchadnezzar, city of Daniel and the exile, then to Borsippa, the ziggurat long identified with the Tower of Babel.
South to the merchant churches of Basra
Drive the length of Mesopotamia to the old Gulf port, where Armenian, Chaldean and Latin merchant families built their churches. Visit the Armenian Church of the Virgin Mary, founded in 1736 with a bell cast in 1907, the Chaldean Cathedral of a diocese recorded here in the 3rd century, and Sacred Heart Church of 1913. Walk Church Street in Al-Jumhuriya, named for the parish still standing on it, then the Ashar Corniche and its carved wooden balconies
The Garden of Eden, the Marshes and Ur
At Al-Qurna the Tigris and Euphrates join, and tradition places the Garden of Eden here; Adam’s Tree marks the spot. Continue into the Mesopotamian Marshes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, for a boat ride among reed islands and mudhif houses. Then the Ziggurat of Ur, the towering stepped temple of the moon god, beside the house traditionally shown as the birthplace of Abraham. A long, extraordinary day, ending back in Baghdad
North to Mar Behnam Monastery
Travel up the Tigris corridor into Nineveh Governorate to the Monastery of Mar Behnam and Mart Sarah, founded in the 4th century around the martyrdom of an Assyrian king’s son and daughter. Its 12th-century Syriac carving is the finest in Mesopotamia, with inscriptions left by Mongol-era travellers. The shrine was destroyed with explosives in 2015 and has been rebuilt stone by stone. Continue to Mosul for the night.
Mosul
Enter the restored churches of the Old City: Al-Tahera of 1862, Al-Saa’a with the clock given by the Empress Eugénie of France, and Mar Toma with its 13th-century marble Door of the Twelve Apostles, all reopened after years of ruin. Visit the shrine of the Prophet Jonah on the mound above ancient Nineveh. In the afternoon climb Mount Alfaf to Mar Mattai, founded in 363 AD, still inhabited, with the whole plain spread out below.
The Nineveh Plains and the cliff monastery
Cross the Christian heartland of Iraq, where Syriac is still a mother tongue. Visit Mart Shmoni at Bartella, then Qaraqosh and Al-Tahira al-Kubra, the largest church in Iraq, burned under occupation and restored in time to receive Pope Francis in 2021. Continue through Karamlesh to Alqosh and climb to Rabban Hormizd, cut into the cliff face in the 7th century, with the tomb of the Prophet Nahum below. On to Duhok
Mountain churches of the Sapna Valley
Finish among the villages that sheltered the Church of the East through every century of upheaval. Araden, whose name means Garden of Eden in Syriac, holds the churches of Mart Shmoni and Sultana Mahdokht, founded in the 4th century between 3,000-metre peaks. Visit Amadiya, the walled town perched on a flat-topped mountain and reached by a single road. Transfer to Erbil for your onward departure.
Includes
- 8-day guided tour
- Accommodation in three stars hotel for 7 nights with breakfast
- Transportation between cities
- Visits to historical and religious sites
Excludes
- Lunch and Dinner
- Personal expenses
- Travel insurance
Important information
Meeting point
The operator confirms the exact meeting point and time once your booking is confirmed, and you will have it well before the day. If you would rather know before you book, message us on WhatsApp and we will ask them for you.
Know before you go
- Free cancellation available up to 24 hours before the activity starts