Reviews

A group of 10 travellers from the East wisely choose Safraty Tours to design a bespoke holiday of unmatchable spiritual and cultural heritage in Iraq, from Basra in the South, through Ur, Eridu, Babylon, Baghdad, up to Amedi and Erbil in the North, where some of the most ancient Christian monasteries stand, as does the traditional meeting place of the ‘three wise men’, the Magi, who were trained by Daniel the prophet, the Rab-Mag in Babylonian-Persian times.

It was an amazing adventure and the warmth and energetic quality of the husband and wife team of Ahmed and Aya was delightful. They patiently answered some 54 emails, and are well able to help with visas, currency exchanges and any question you might have about travelling to Iraq. You know you are in safe hands, as they take security considerations very seriously.

Ahmed and Aya are lovely, decent and honest young people who love their country and want to showcase it to a world who may just think of ‘conflict’ and conjure up images of Saddam Hussein. Iraq is a fractured country in some ways to be sure, and has had more than its share of conflict and tragedy, but the youth of the 21st century are inspiring – Aya brought us to the Mosul heritage house and linked up with some Chaldean Christians in Al Qosh where the prophet Nahum’s tomb is sited, all young people wanting to promote tourism of their country and cooperatively assisting each other. It was heart-warming to see. They have a wealth of cultural knowledge, interesting and lively political and social views and brought us to eat many tasty meals, including Iraqi, Syrian and Lebanese cuisine. Aya even took the trouble to buy me geymar (water buffalo clotted cream, to be eaten with jam or honey and delicious Arabic bread) because I had hinted that I liked the Turkish version (Kaymark) of it.

Aya is a remarkable young woman in her mid twenties, reliable, responsible, spirited, knowledgeable and fun to be around (I daresay she enjoyed us Asians too!). When in our excitement at the ‘Adam tree’ we forgot to go to the Shatt Al Arab confluence point where the Tigris and Euphrates meet, she stopped the bus and brought us back to see it and take wonderful photos, as she did not want us to be disappointed. She also took pains to try find ‘decent’ washrooms for the all too important bathroom break in between long drives, much appreciated by the women in the group. She has street smarts and knows how to deal with militia/soldiers at the several checkpoints we had to pass through.

It was a wonderful 11 day tour, really first rate in terms of the planning and care that went into it. We cannot recommend Safraty tours more.  I have travelled all over the Middle East and Mediterranean Africa, and this tour ranks amongst the very best custom tours I have had the pleasure of experiencing.

Iraq is off the beaten path for many but it has a lot to offer, in terms of politics, history (Akkad! Sumer! Mesopotamia!), culture, religion – and an excellent way to be introduced to this amazing land is to travel with Safraty. It was marvelous and enriching. Thank you, Ahmed and Aya, and we hope you will seriously consider coming back to Asia to visit us.

Dr. LA Thio, Singapore, Sept 2024.