Expeditions

Granada 2008

The Centre is planning a short expedition to Andalucia in September 2008. The itinerary will include Malaga and Granada, and especially the Alhambra. Numbers will be strictly limited. For more information, please contact Dr Lynette Mitchell.

Past Expeditions

Turkey 2002

Istanbul was the destination of the 2002 Mediterranean visit. It was the 'feet oJ part of the MA Optional Course on the Byzantine and the Ottoman Empires Compared. We walked miles looking at Byzantine walls and the amazing Church of the Chora with its fantastic wall paintings and mosaics. We also saw the Blue Mosqui Aya Sofia, the Imperial Palace with its harem, and the breathtakingly wonderful Sulemaniye Mosque, where a friendly cleaner took us behind the scenes and photographed us in the Sultan's own chair. We looked at classical archaeological finds and Islamic art. We found the station at the end of the Orient Express line and went up the little Tunnel Railway to the modem city and Taksim Square. All this activity was interspersed with Turkish coffee, apple tea and delicious (cheap) meals. Incidentally, like all good university courses, it provided a whole range of transferable skills; how to bargain politely, ~but firmly; in the bazaar; how to make local bread; how to keep warm on a choppy boat trip up the Bosphorus and how to close your eyes and hold on tight, without shrieking, when your lecturer insisted on your trying the local buses. We could go back again and again........ but next year it will probably be Venice, Tunis or Seville.

Naples & Pompeii

A trip to include Renaissance as well as ancient Roman sights. The group was based in Sorrento from where excursions were made to Naples, Pompeii, Herculaneum, and other areas of interest. Background information and lectures were given to enable independent exploration by those who wished.

Seville 1998

A cultural trip based in Seville, but also taking in Cordoba, Cadiz and Jerez. During the week the group visited museums, Roman and Muslim sights as well as a sherry tasting trip and a traditional Flamenco evening. Lectures were given on the history of the area and local cuisine was sampled with enthusiasm.

Sicily 1997

A group travelled to Sicily after the conference in Malta. Cultural excursions were organised and free entertainment was provided in the form of impromptu Greek tragedy in an ancient theatre.