Intrepid travelers seeking to explore the 9000 year old culture of Mesopatamia can now satisfy their wishes to visit Iraq. It is possible to tour and enjoy such landmark places as the ancient ruins of Babylon, the Shrine City of Kerbala and ancient Urak. Summer holidays in Iraq are a cultural exploration, whilst those who prefer a less risky break may prefer “the other Iraq”, Kurdistan in the North of the country.

Independent travel isn’t recommended due to safety issues in Iraq, but there are some holiday companies which now organize tours. Hinterland Travel has been organizing trips to Iraq since 2009 to small groups, and each group is accompanied by armed guards. The company prefer to call their trips tours of Mesopatamia rather than Iraq.

Hinterland Travel describes the situation in Iraq as “the mood in Iraq is upbeat, vibrant with the security aspect improving all the time.” Traveling in Iraq doesn’t come cheap though and a nine day tour costs £1780 whilst a 16 day tour is £2480. These prices are for 2011 and exclude flights and visas.

A nine day tour commences in Baghdad and takes in the city, and also includes overnight stays in Erbil and Kerbala. The 16 day tour includes the same itinerary but includes additional overnight stays in Samawih, Najaf, Nasiriya and Basra. Due to the unsettled conditions in Iraq schedules are subject to change and hotel standards can vary enormously.

In Baghdad travelers can visit the National Museum, the Ctesiphon Arch, Mirjan Mosque and Khadimain Mosque. Outside the city the tours visit the Assyrian site of Mimrud, Tikrit, and Der Marr Mitti Monastery, amongst other venerable sites.

Many other visitors and pilgrims travel to Iraq to visit Holy religious sites, though Westerners are as yet in the minority. Tours to Iraq offer a wonderful opportunity to visit such places as Uruk, the world’s first city, and Babylon, once home to the famous Hanging Gardens. There is also the opportunity to visit the palaces of Saddam for a touch of modern history.

Kurdistan is an independent part of Iraq in the North of the country. The climate is dry with hot summers, and the local Kurds welcome the idea of foreign tourism. Kurdistan features mountains and rivers, and hopes to welcome adventure tourists for such pursuits as river rafting.

Those who choose to visit now will have the luxury of being at the forefront of tourism to Iraq following the fall of Sadam.