A week in Iraq
Seven days across Iraq: Al Hillah, Baghdad, Sāmarrā’, Kirkuk, Erbil and Mosul. Each day is a walk through the best-known places in one city, and the cities follow in the order that keeps the travel between them short.
Day 1: Al Hillah
- BabylonArchaeological site · On the map
- Hanging Gardens of BabylonGarden · 1.4 km on from Babylon · On the map
- EsagilaTemple or shrine · 0.6 km on from Hanging Gardens of Babylon · On the map
- EtemenankiArchaeological site · 0.3 km on from Esagila · On the map
- Euphrates TunnelBridge · 0.5 km on from Etemenanki · On the map
- Lion of BabylonStatue · 1.1 km on from Euphrates Tunnel · On the map
6 stops, 23 km on foot along the streets: about 4 h 35 min of walking.
Day 2: Baghdad
- National Museum of IraqMuseum · On the map
- Mosque of AhmadiyahMosque · 1.7 km on from National Museum of Iraq · On the map
- Haydar-Khana MosqueMosque · 0.4 km on from Mosque of Ahmadiyah · On the map
- Baghdadi MuseumMuseum · 0.3 km on from Haydar-Khana Mosque · On the map
- Latin Saint Joseph Cathedral BaghdadCathedral · 0.7 km on from Baghdadi Museum · On the map
- Sheikh Abdul Qader al-Jilani MosqueMosque · 1.1 km on from Latin Saint Joseph Cathedral Baghdad · On the map
6 stops, 6.2 km on foot along the streets: about 1 h 17 min of walking.
Day 3: Sāmarrā’
- SamarraArchaeological site · On the map
- Al-Askari ShrineMosque · 1.2 km on from Samarra · On the map
- Great Mosque of SamarraMosque · 1 km on from Al-Askari Shrine · On the map
- MalwiyaTower · 0.1 km on from Great Mosque of Samarra · On the map
4 stops, 3.1 km on foot along the streets: about 37 min of walking.
Day 4: Kirkuk
- Kirkuk CitadelMonument · On the map
- The mosque of the prophet DanielMosque · 0.1 km on from Kirkuk Citadel · On the map
- Great Mosque of Kirkuk CitadelMosque · 0.1 km on from The mosque of the prophet Daniel · On the map
3 stops, 0.3 km on foot along the streets: about 4 min of walking.
Day 5: Erbil
- Jalil Khayat MosqueMosque · On the map
- Citadel of ErbilArchaeological site · 1.4 km on from Jalil Khayat Mosque · On the map
- Erbil Stones and Gems MuseumMuseum · 0.1 km on from Citadel of Erbil · On the map
- Kurdish Textile and Cultural MuseumMuseum · Next to Erbil Stones and Gems Museum · On the map
- Khalidiya Khanqah Mosque and TekkeMosque · 0.2 km on from Kurdish Textile and Cultural Museum · On the map
- Erbil Civilization MuseumMuseum · 1.3 km on from Khalidiya Khanqah Mosque and Tekke · On the map
6 stops, 5.1 km on foot along the streets: about 1 h 2 min of walking.
Day 6: Mosul
- Mosul MuseumMuseum · On the map
- Pasha Mosque, MosulMosque · 0.7 km on from Mosul Museum · On the map
- Saint George MosqueMosque · 0.5 km on from Pasha Mosque, Mosul · On the map
- Our Lady of the Hour ChurchTemple or shrine · 0.5 km on from Saint George Mosque · On the map
- Great Mosque of al-NuriMosque · 0.3 km on from Our Lady of the Hour Church · On the map
- Bash Tapia CastleCastle · 1.4 km on from Great Mosque of al-Nuri · On the map
6 stops, 4.4 km on foot along the streets: about 54 min of walking.
Day 7: Mosul
- Mosque of the Prophet ShithMosque · On the map
- Al-Mujahidi MosqueMosque · 0.8 km on from Mosque of the Prophet Shith · On the map
- Hamu al-Qadu MosqueMosque · 0.8 km on from Al-Mujahidi Mosque · On the map
- Church of Saint ThomasCathedral · 0.9 km on from Hamu al-Qadu Mosque · On the map
- Imam al-Baher MosqueMosque · 0.7 km on from Church of Saint Thomas · On the map
- The Shrine of Yahya Abu al-QasimTemple or shrine · 1.1 km on from Imam al-Baher Mosque · On the map
6 stops, 5.4 km on foot along the streets: about 1 h 5 min of walking.
More for Iraq
- Things to do in Iraq · 40 places to see, led by Babylon and Samarra
Photo credits
- Babylon: Mohamm3dfadil, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Hanging Gardens of Babylon: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0
- Esagila: Baylon_2443.png, Public domain
- Etemenanki: O.Mustafin, CC0
- Euphrates Tunnel: Alain Manesson Mallet, Public domain
- Lion of Babylon: David Stanley, CC BY 2.0
- National Museum of Iraq: Hussein A.Al-mukhtar, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Mosque of Ahmadiyah: Mustafa Waad Saeed, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Haydar-Khana Mosque: Salam Pax, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Baghdadi Museum: Aziz1005, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Latin Saint Joseph Cathedral Baghdad: Aziz1005, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Sheikh Abdul Qader al-Jilani Mosque: Mustafa Waad Saeed, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Samarra: Jim Gordon, CC BY 2.0
- Al-Askari Shrine: Amir Hossein Nasooti, CC BY 4.0
- Great Mosque of Samarra: IgorF, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Malwiya: Abdo photo, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Kirkuk Citadel: Chad.r.hill, Public domain
- The mosque of the prophet Daniel: Arsanadil, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Jalil Khayat Mosque: Sarbast.T.Hameed, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Citadel of Erbil: jan kurdistani, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Kurdish Textile and Cultural Museum: Ara Qadir, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Erbil Civilization Museum: Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg), CC BY-SA 4.0
- Mosul Museum: Levi Clancy, CC0
- Pasha Mosque, Mosul: Levi Clancy, CC0
- Saint George Mosque: Ali.tinbo, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Our Lady of the Hour Church: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain
- Great Mosque of al-Nuri: Ennolenze, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Bash Tapia Castle: Eng Omer Akram, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Mosque of the Prophet Shith: الدبوني, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Al-Mujahidi Mosque: Faisal Jeber, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Hamu al-Qadu Mosque: الدبوني, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Church of Saint Thomas: الدبوني, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Imam al-Baher Mosque: Eng Omer Akram, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The Shrine of Yahya Abu al-Qasim: Omar Siddeeq Yousif, CC BY-SA 4.0
Pictures from Wikimedia Commons, through each place’s Wikidata entry.
Good to know
- Each day starts at the best-known place not yet seen and adds the best known within a short walk of it, then puts them in the shortest order. The places come from Wikidata (CC0), ranked by how many Wikipedias have an article about them.
- The map draws each day’s walk along the streets, routed by Valhalla on OpenStreetMap; the distances beside the stops are straight lines.
- Opening hours, tickets and closures are not checked: each place’s Wikipedia article has them.