For most travellers, Iraq sits firmly in the category of places not to visit. Decades of conflict, political instability and alarming headlines have kept it off the conventional tourist map. But for Capetonians Karen Kallmann and Evan Robins, travelling to unusual destinations with their children has become something of a family tradition.
Over the December 2025 and January 2026 holidays, before the current Middle East conflict, the family spent three weeks travelling through Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan with their five children: Yael, Eitan, Aryeh, Ma’ayan and Ayelet, aged between 21 and 13.
Their journeys are rarely conventional. Previous destinations have included Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Cuba, Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Ethiopia, Indonesia and Tunisia.
Planning is deliberately minimal. The family rarely books ahead and prefers to make decisions along the way. That approach often means improvising accommodation and transport, but it also allows them to experience places in a far more direct way.
In Iraq it quickly became clear that tourism infrastructure is almost non-existent. Accommodation was mostly in small budget hotels and occasionally in converted houses. What the family gained in return was something rare in modern travel: historic sites almost entirely empty of visitors.
Travelling as an observant family
Karen, who chairs the Union of Jewish Women in Cape Town, and Evan travel with a strong sense of identity and tradition. The family is observant, keeping Shabbat and eating kosher while on the road. Some family members are vegetarian; others vegan or pescatarian. Maintaining those practices while travelling in a country with virtually no Jewish community requires ingenuity.
One Friday evening during the journey the family hurried back to their accommodation to welcome Shabbat. “We ran back to the accommodation, brought in Shabbat, had some dinner and went to bed. We wondered when last in Iraq Shabbat candles were kindled, kiddush made, tefillin put on and, perhaps even more rarely, benching with a mezuman (three people together).”
The moment carried a special historical resonance. For more than 2 500 years Iraq had been home to one of the world’s oldest and most important Jewish communities. In the early twentieth century there were between 130 000 and 150 000 Jews in Iraq, particularly in Baghdad, Basra and Mosul. At one time Jews made up about a third of Baghdad’s population. That community effectively disappeared in 1950–1951 when about 120 000 to 130 000 Iraqi Jews were airlifted to Israel in the dramatic rescue known as Operation Ezra and Nehemiah.
Read about one woman’s escape from Iraq to Israel in Operation Ezra and Nehemia here.
The Land Between the Rivers
Much of modern Iraq lies in the ancient region known as Mesopotamia, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The name itself comes from Greek and means exactly that: land between rivers. Often described as the cradle of civilisation, Mesopotamia was where some of the earliest cities and writing systems emerged thousands of years ago.
The modern state of Iraq is far younger. It was created in the early twentieth century after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, becoming independent in 1932 and later establishing itself as a republic in 1958. From 1979 until 2003 Iraq was ruled by Saddam Hussein, who famously saw himself as a modern incarnation of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar.
Today Iraq is a federal republic that includes the autonomous Kurdistan Region in the north. The Kurds, a large ethnic group spread across Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria, govern themselves in this region with their own parliament and security forces.
Driving across Iraq
The family explored much of the country by road. They hired two cars, with Karen and the eldest daughter doing most of the driving. The roads presented their own challenges.
“There are unmarked speed bumps on 80+ km/hr roads: the number of potholes beat those of Joburg; drivers drive between the two lanes all the time which gets so frustrating, and the roundabouts are chaotic.”
Roadblocks appeared frequently, part of ongoing efforts to prevent ISIS from reasserting itself in the country. Despite this heavy security presence, the family did not experience danger, and they travelled widely without incident, except for a couple of ditches from which they needed to extricate their cars.
Iraq
Baghdad was among the first stops on the itinerary. The vast capital city carries layers of history but also reminders of darker ideological influences. The family encountered Nazi symbols, including a swastika painted on a synagogue wall in Baghdad. Bookshops openly sold Mein Kampf and The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and posters of Hitler could be seen.
The political influence of neighbouring Iran was also noticeable: “Iran has taken over, not only in political influence, but has ideological control and it’s not subtle.”
Yet the strongest impression came not from politics but from ordinary people who showed the family amazing kindness, generosity and hospitality. “We got invited to meals, were presented with clothes and gifts, bread, fruit and juice for free, and genuine interest in us.” The family generally did not reveal that they were Jewish, although people often asked questions about their religion.
Language barriers were common. Very little English was spoken, and most conversations happened through Google Translate.
Rediscovering Jewish Iraq
One of the most meaningful aspects of the trip was visiting Jewish heritage sites across Iraq. Many are now incorporated into Islamic structures, with mosques built above them, yet Hebrew inscriptions and Jewish symbols often remain visible. Many had been places of pilgrimages for the large numbers of Jews who had lived in the country. The family visited the traditional Tomb of Ezekiel in the town of Al Kifl, south of Baghdad. They also travelled to Al Uzair, associated with the Tomb of Ezra. Visiting these places created a powerful connection with Jewish history.
Ancient cities
Travelling across Iraq meant moving through some of the most significant sites in ancient history.
The family visited Ur, traditionally regarded as the birthplace of Abraham and home to the famous ziggurat (pyramid) rising dramatically from the desert.
In Uruk, one of the earliest cities in the world, the first written words were recorded in cuneiform thousands of years ago.
They also travelled to Nineveh, once the capital of the Assyrian Empire and referenced in the biblical story of Jonah.
Nearby Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, is slowly rebuilding after years of devastation under ISIS control. At one point the family walked through the city while using the video on a mobile phone to show an elderly Jewish woman, originally from Mosul and now living in Israel, the streets of her former home. This was a deeply emotional experience for them all.
In Samarra, they climbed the dramatic spiral minaret, Abu Dilaf, one of the most iconic pieces of early Islamic architecture. The journey also took them south to the Iraqi marshes near Nasiriyah, a landscape of waterways and reed villages.
Another stop was Al Qurna, where local tradition places the site of the Garden of Eden. A shrine marks the supposed location of the Tree of Knowledge, often called Adam’s Tree. This experience, however, was disappointing, with the tree (which has been replaced several times) looking very forlorn.
Food on the road
Food became an adventure of its own.
Falafel appeared constantly. By the end of the journey the family had eaten around forty falfel meals. “The amount of falafel we had was absurd.” One welcome change was a chickpea soup sold as street food, served from a huge pot and ladled into ceramic dishes that were washed and reused after each serving.
Fresh pomegranate juice was also widely available and quickly became a favourite.
Cultural Differences
Daily life also brought moments of cultural adjustment. Smoking was widespread. There was what the family described as a “huge smoking culture,” and concern about cigarette smoke affecting others seemed rare.
Public spaces were also overwhelmingly male. “The public space is very male-dominated. Men socialise a lot, playing games, smoking hookah, drinking predominantly strong, sweet tea. All the public squares are filled with men at tables and you’d be hard pressed to find a woman anywhere.”
Clothing expectations presented another challenge. Even though the women in the Robins Kallman family dressed modestly, covering their hair and wearing long sleeves and long skirts, they were often given large sheet-like garments to wear over their clothes. “The dress coding got to me at one point in time because I honestly tried my best to be respectful… and then I kept having to wear the ugly embarrassing ‘I wasn’t wearing the right clothes’ sheet.”
Sanitary conditions sometimes required adjustment as well. “I learned how to block my nose for LONG periods of time as the bathrooms were not so pleasant.” “A few of the peeps in our family went to the bathroom which cost 500 IQR… in a bathroom… with no toilet paper… and it wouldn’t flush… and dirty floor.”
In some areas rubbish was widespread. “There is trash everywhere; parts of it feel like a giant rubbish dump.”
Into Kurdistan
After ten days travelling across Iraq, the family crossed into Iraqi Kurdistan, a semi-autonomous region in the north. The contrast was noticeable.
Much of Kurdistan felt cleaner and more organised, and they describe the region as “pristine” compared with Iraq’s “grittiness.” The capital Erbil is considered one of the oldest, continuously-inhabited settlements in the world, with evidence of habitation stretching back about 6 000 years.
From Duhok the family explored several dramatic mountain towns including Amedi and Akre, as well as Lalish, the holiest shrine of the Yazidi religion. Further east they visited Sulaymaniyah, widely regarded as the cultural and intellectual centre of Iraqi Kurdistan. In Kurdistan, too, lies Alqosh, home to the traditional Tomb of Nahum, one of the Minor Prophets. The shrine has recently been restored by international groups and the local community.
One of the most surprising experiences came in the mountains at Mount Korek. Many people imagine Iraq only as desert, but northern Iraq is mountainous and receives enough snowfall for winter sports. The ski area is small and quiet compared with European resorts, but the moment created one of the trip’s happiest memories. “It was snowing and we went up the cable car and had a snowball fight.” For some of the children it was the first time they had ever seen snow.
A Journey defined by people
Looking back on the trip, the strongest impression was not the ancient ruins or historic sites, but the warmth of the people they met. “The kindness of the people, the generosity, the welcome that we received wherever we went was just heartwarming, beautiful and sincere.”
Despite rough roads, cultural differences and an endless supply of falafel, the journey offered something increasingly rare in modern travel: the chance to explore extraordinary places without crowds, and to encounter the everyday kindness of strangers. In a region often defined by conflict in the global imagination, the family experienced something very different: hospitality, curiosity and generosity from people they met along the way. And in many of the world’s oldest cities, and richest historical and archaeological sites, they often had the experience almost entirely to themselves.
If you enjoyed reading this article about Iraq, you may be keen to take a look at some of the books on the topic available from the Jacob Gitlin Library.
- Kattan, Naim Farewell Babylon: Coming of Age in Jewish Baghdad Samantha Ellis, Chopping Onions on My Heart: On losing and preserving culture Revital Shiri-Horowitz, Daughters of Iraq
- David Kazzaz, Mother of the Pound: Memoirs on the life and history of the Iraqi Jews
- Shlomo Hillel, Operation Babylon
- Cynthia Kaplan Shamash, The Strangers We Became: Lessons in exile from one of Iraq’s last Jews
- Jessica Jiji, Sweet Dates in Basra
- Ariel Sabar, My Father’s Paradise: A Son’s Search for His Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq
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