Days 1-7: Iraq — Mesopotamia
Baghdad (National Museum, Al-Mutanabbi Street). Karbala and Najaf holy cities. Babylon and Ur. Mesopotamian Marshes overnight in mudhif. Basra and Shatt al-Arab. Fly Basra→Beirut.
Days 8-9: Lebanon Interlude
Beirut: National Museum, Pigeon Rocks at Raouché, Martyrs’ Square, Hamra district. Free evening in Beirut’s legendary restaurant and nightlife scene. Fly Beirut→Damascus (or drive).
Days 10-17: Syria — Christmas in Damascus
Damascus Old City — Christmas Mass at a 2,000-year-old Christian community church. Azem Palace, National Museum. Bosra — the spectacular 2nd-century Roman theatre, one of the best-preserved anywhere. Mar Musa (Monastery of Saint Moses the Abyssinian) — an 11th-century monastery built into a cliff. Homs. Aleppo — Citadel, rebuilt souk, soap factory. Idlib region. Hama waterwheels. Krak des Chevaliers. Palmyra — the desert’s greatest city. Return Damascus for New Year’s Eve. Depart Beirut.
