Explore Mesopotamia

11/05/2024

Starting as early as the 6th millennium BC, the fertile alluvial plains between Iraq’s Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, referred to as Mesopotamia, gave rise to some of the world’s earliest cities, civilizations, and empires in Sumer, Akkad, and Assyria.
Mesopotamia was a “Cradle of Civilisation” that saw the inventions of a writing system, mathematics, timekeeping, a calendar, astrology, and a law code.
Following the Muslim conquest of Mesopotamia, Baghdad became the capital and the largest city of the Abbasid Caliphate, and during the Islamic Golden Age, the city evolved into a significant cultural and intellectual center, and garnered a worldwide reputation for its academic institutions, including the House of Wisdom.
The city was largely destroyed at the hands of the Mongol Empire in 1258 during the siege of Baghdad, resulting in a decline that would linger through many centuries due to frequent plagues and multiple successive empires.

10/11/2023

Uruk was one of the most important cities in ancient Mesopotamia. According to the Sumerian King List, it was founded by King Enmerkar c. 4500 BC. Uruk is best known as the birthplace of writing c.
3200 BC as well as for its architecture and other cultural innovations. It is considered the first true city in the world. It was, in fact, a Mega-City for the era with a peak population of 80,000.

08/11/2023

Lalish is the holiest temple of the Yazidis. It is the location of the tomb of the Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir, a central figure of the Yazidi faith.

The Lalish valley was annexed in 1892 by the surrounding Muslim tribes under the leadership of Ottomans, the mausoleum of Yezidi saints were looted and damaged and the Lalish Temple was converted into a Quranic school. The occupation of the temple eventually led to a fierce and widespread rebellion by Yezidis of Shekhan and Shingal against the Ottomans and the neighbouring Muslim Kurdish tribes. It was not until 1904 that the Ezidis, under the leadership of Mîr Alî Beg, succeeded in forcibly recovering their temple and driving out the Muslims.

07/04/2023

15/11/2022

Listening to the folklore music in one of the oldest city in the world ,

17/09/2022

Campfire Chat: Dr. Douglas Layton

The ATTA Campfire Chat series brings inspiration and vision from dynamic thought leaders whose areas of expertise inform and guide the adventure travel industry. Along with other efforts to regularly engage the global ATTA community, these virtual interviews hosted by ATTA executives are designed to provide a brief but thoughtful reflection on issues you are facing now that will affect tourism tomorrow.

Watch the full interview:

https://www.adventuretravelnews.com/campfire-chat-dr-douglas-layton?utm_source=atta&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ATN_14_Sept_2022&utm_term=ATN_14_Sept_2022&utm_content=ATN_14_Sept_2022

Explore Mesopotamia is the only locally and internationally registered Tour Company in the region. We have been hosting world travelers for over 30 years. In the world of Adventure Travel—experience matters—especially in the Middle East! We custom design every tour to meet the needs and desires ...

15/09/2022

View this 24-second video and receive a personal invitation to the heart of Mesopotamia!

YOUR PERSONAL INVITATION TO THE CRADLE OF CIVILIZATION

Contact us on:
[email protected]
www.exploremesopotamia.com

30/05/2022

On the peak of Gara mountain where Saddam Hussein enjoyed this area for vacation and built a palace (now largely destroyed) on top of the mountain as part of a complex of ten palaces to be located throughout the valley.

Explore mesopotamia with us.

23/05/2022

01/04/2022

Babylon is coming back to life, with its famed Ishtar Gate to be restored by this summer.
A new World Monuments Fund project in conjunction with the US embassy in Baghdad aims to repair Iraqi cultural heritage as part of the Future of Babylon project.

31/01/2022

Ur & Uruk, The two most important sites not only in mesopotamia but the world. Ur is famous for it’s magnificent ziggurat and the first written words started at Uruk.

Choose luxury and historical tour with us and explore mesopotamia.

20/01/2022

Beautiful Kurdistan in winter with our tourists in historical Caravansera, team
30 years journeying through the cradle of civilization.

09/01/2022

Another joyful day with team

30 years journeying through the cradle of civilization.

05/01/2022

Mustansiriya Madrasah was a medieval-era scholarly complex that provided a universal system of higher education. It was established in 1227 CE and was named after and built by the Abbasid Caliph al-Mustansir in , .
30 years journeying through the cradle of civilization.

04/01/2022

30 years journeying through the cradle of civilization.
Link to Guidebook:
https://www.amazon.com/Kurdistan-Guide-2015-2016-DouglasLayton/dp/0996266704/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1438712513&sr=81&keywords=kurdistan+tour+guide

02/01/2022

Kurdish dance is an integral part of Kurdish culture. Experience it with us
30 years journeying through the cradle of civilization.

01/01/2022

, celebrates New Year with its tourists in Erbil Citadel (the longest continuously inhabited sites in the world)
30 years journeying through the cradle of civilization.

31/12/2021

On behalf of Exploremesopotamiatours team, we wish you a year full of blessing and filled with a new adventure. Happy New Year 2022. Looking forward to serving you with our quality services.

Mutanabi Street - one of the stops we make on our tours to Baghdad and South Iraq.
30 years journeying through the cradle of civilization.

30/12/2021

‏We are honored to announce that we have the first and only female tour guide in all of Iraq
Belegu


‏30years journeying through the cradle of civilization
‏

29/12/2021

30 years journeying through the cradle of civilization.
,

24/11/2021

30 years journeying through the cradle of civilization.

17/11/2021

A Post-Covid Message from the Founder and CEO of Explore Mesopotamia:

Dear fellow adventurers
Covid has taught us many things, i.e., washing our hands every 15 seconds and many other vital life habits.
Seriously, the most important thing we have learned as adventure travellers is that it is vital who you travel with as Adventure Travel, by its very nature, often has unforeseen difficulties that must be overcome.
Explore Mesopotamia is the first-ever inwardly focused Tour Company in the Kurdistan Region and the only company that has survived the crises of ISIS and, most recently, Covid-19.
Having personally led tours in Kurdistan for over 30 years and worked as Iraq Country Director for numerous projects, including for the Kurdistan Regional Government and the US State Department, I have learned that having connections at the top is essential when things need to be fixed. Some run tours in Kurdistan when things are going well who are self-appointed “fixers”, but when a crisis arises, they tend to disappear only to reappear when the crisis has passed. The real fixers are those who have the experience and connections to fix things truly and who remain in business throughout the difficult times as well as the good. Explore Mesopotamia is that company.
Kurdistan is now past the Covid-19 crisis, and things are returning to normal. All countries are now welcome to Kurdistan, and many flights are arriving every day.
We invite you to join us in this amazing land. We know you have choices when deciding with whom to travel. Our pledge to our clients is to constantly strive to provide the best of every aspect of Adventure Travel, including the best service, the best hotels, and the best guides. We are committed to providing the highest level of safety and security for our guests.
Most importantly—you can count us to be here for you today and through every bump that comes along the way.
Travel with the best. Travel with Explore Mesopotamia!

Douglas Layton�Founder and CEO

16/11/2021

A panorama of Kurdistan mountains from a cable car at Korek mountain resort.
30 years journeying through the cradle of civilization.

12/11/2021

30 years journeying through the cradle of civilization.

09/11/2021

A Post-Covid Message from the Founder and CEO of Explore Mesopotamia:

Dear fellow adventurers
Covid has taught us many things, i.e., washing our hands every 15 seconds and many other vital life habits.
Seriously, the most important thing we have learned as adventure travellers is that it is vital who you travel with as Adventure Travel, by its very nature, often has unforeseen difficulties that must be overcome.
Explore Mesopotamia is the first-ever inwardly focused Tour Company in the Kurdistan Region and the only company that has survived the crises of ISIS and, most recently, Covid-19.
Having personally led tours in Kurdistan for over 30 years and worked as Iraq Country Director for numerous projects, including for the Kurdistan Regional Government and the US State Department, I have learned that having connections at the top is essential when things need to be fixed. Some run tours in Kurdistan when things are going well who are self-appointed “fixers”, but when a crisis arises, they tend to disappear only to reappear when the crisis has passed. The real fixers are those who have the experience and connections to fix things truly and who remain in business throughout the difficult times as well as the good. Explore Mesopotamia is that company.
Kurdistan is now past the Covid-19 crisis, and things are returning to normal. All countries are now welcome to Kurdistan, and many flights are arriving every day.
We invite you to join us in this amazing land. We know you have choices when deciding with whom to travel. Our pledge to our clients is to constantly strive to provide the best of every aspect of Adventure Travel, including the best service, the best hotels, and the best guides. We are committed to providing the highest level of safety and security for our guests.
Most importantly—you can count us to be here for you today and through every bump that comes along the way.
Travel with the best. Travel with Explore Mesopotamia!

Douglas Layton�Founder and CEO

https://www.instagram.com/p/CUm2EuboZ01/?utm_medium=copy_link
30 years journeying through the cradle of civilization.
.Sobek

06/11/2021

Explore ancient civilizations by team
Jirwana, the oldest dams in the world, Dohuk, Iraqi Kurdistan
30 years journeying through the cradle of civilization.
.Sobek

27/10/2021

At hiking group we don’t have competitors; we follow each other; we trust each other; and we support each other. That’s why we say "No Friends But The Mountains". October 2021

Explore love with nature by team
30 years journeying through the cradle of civilization.

25/10/2021

A tour of Americans from Mt. travel visit a Yezidi refugee NGO project . It was an amazing and emotional afternoon.

Explore love with nature by team
30 years journeying through the cradle of civilization.

23/10/2021

Explore love with nature by team
30 years journeying through the cradle of civilization.