(Formerly Kurdistan Iraq Tours)

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30 YEARS​ JOURNEYING THROUGH THE CRADLE OF CIVILIZATION

Our company is owned and operated by an American with 30 years’ experience in the region, who works hand in hand with a highly trained local staff. Explore Mesopotamia (formerly Kurdistan Iraq Tours USA) was the first inwardly focused Tour Company in the region and is the pioneer of all modern tourism in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. We hosted the first ever tour group after the last Gulf War (American) and have been in the forefront of hosting most other major nations such as Germany, Australia, Italy, Austria, Britain, and China as well as more obscure nations such as Mongolia.

We are famous for our attention to detail. Relax let us handle your journey to one of the most fascinating lands in the world.

We are the most experienced travel professionals in this region.

Dr. Douglas Layton
CEO

Dr. Layton has lived and worked in Kurdistan over 25 years in various capacities including the US State Department Country Director of Health Care Partnerships in Iraq and as the National Director for Kurdistan Development Corporation. He has written extensively on Kurdistan and is the founder the first American English language school in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. 

He was the originator of the term “The Other Iraq” used by many media outlets and governments today and initiated the successful International PR campaign titled Kurdistan: The Other Iraq aired on major news outlets such as CNN, FOX, CBS and BBC and many others. In 1995 Layton testified as an expert before the US Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs regarding the genocide against the Kurds by Saddam Hussein. 

He has traveled to more than 100 countries and is the founder of several International relief and development NGOs. He is also the founder of the first tour company in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. He now resides in Big Bear, California and travels to Kurdistan on a regular basis.For complete profile see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Layton

Testimony: "Dr. Layton has unparalleled experience with the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and its leaders and people accumulated over several decades of close contact. Despite his many other pressing demands on his time, Dr. Layton very generously contributed his insights and deep knowledge of the region, and of the Kurds in particular. I owe him a debt of gratitude; not only for his judgment and practical advice, but also for sparking my admiration for the Kurdistan and its wonderful people. Dr. Layton has been assiduous in untangling partisan biases; as well as sorting fact from fiction during his many years of research. I am merely one the grateful beneficiaries of his work." Robert Muirhead, Author of "Bearing Witness: A Journey Through Kurdistan," 2019