BBC Radio 4’s landmark series, A History of the World in 100 Objects, began this week. Made in collaboration with the British Museum and presented by its Director, Neil MacGregor, the show aims to tell the history of civilization using 100 prized artefacts.
Cultural specialist The Traveller feels it can do even better – telling the history of the world in just 10 guided tours.
Those tours come with subject-leading lecturers, who boast unrivalled contacts books and can often gain exclusive ‘private views’ of British Museum collections prior to departures. These are the foremost experts.
Here are The Traveller’s 10 tours tracing the history of the world’s great civilisations:
- Experience Ethiopia
This tour starts with ‘Lucy’, the common name of AL 288-1, the skeleton of an Australopithecus afarensis discovered in 1974 in Northern Ethiopia. Lucy’s significance lies in the fact she demonstrates that bipedalism preceded increased brain size in human evolution.
Departing 13-28 November, led by Michael Sargent. Prices from £2,290 pp*. - Ancient Syria
A tour taking in Mari, an ancient Sumerian and Amorite city on the Western bank of the Euphrates river that’s supposedly been inhabited since 5 BC. Over 25,000 clay tablets in Akkadian language written in cuneiform have been discovered there.
Departing 17 April – 2 May, led by Jonathan Tubb. Prices from £2,695 pp*. - Egypt and The Book of the Dead
The development of the Book of the Dead can be traced as far back as the Pyramid Texts, death spells for the king’s wellbeing that were inscribed in pyramids from the end of the Fifth Dynasty (around 2345 BC onward). This tour features Saqqara and the Valley of the Kings, where preserved spells can be seen.
Departing 30 October – 14 November, led by Carol Andrews. Prices from £2,470 pp*. - China: The Waking Dragon
The Zhou Dynasty (1050-221 BC) was a period of great intellectual activity and philosophical diversity in China. Confucius was one of the era’s most significant thinkers, influencing much of China’s later history. It was on the sacred Mount Taishan – which this tour visits – that he famously uttered “the world is small”.
Departing 11-26 September, led by Paul Bevan. Prices from £2,390 pp*. - Persia: The Achaemenian Heritage,
During the 6thcentury BC, Cyrus the Great founded a mighty Persian Empire. It stretched from Egypt to Pakistan in its zenith, and brought excellent law and administration, reliable currency, postage systems and religious tolerance. Included on this tour is Persia’s ceremonial capital, XXX, with its fine architecture.
Departing 13-27 April, led by Iain Shearer. Prices from £2,750 pp*. - Roman AlgeriaThe Roman Empire’s lengthy domination of North Africa (dates XXX) left behind some monumental remains, still marvellously preserved. On this tour, visit what the heart of the Roman province of Mauretania, and learn of its rich cultural life, captured forever in an inscription at the forum in Timgad: “Hunting, bathing, gambling, laughing – that is to live”.
Departing 24-30 October, led by Jim Summerly.Prices from £1,955 pp*. - Northern Peru: Coastal Cultures and Andean Monuments
Much more important than southern sites like Machu Picchu, the Northern Coastal desert holds some of Peru’s greatest archaeological treasures. They include Chan Chan (the great adobe city of the Chimu civilization), 1500-year-old Moche temples, and the royal tomb of the Lord of Sipan, somehow still intact.
Departing 9-26 October, led by Warwick Bray. Prices from £3,250 pp*. - Saudi Arabia: Heartland of Islam
The advent of Islam in the 7thcentury – when Muhammad received Allah’s message (the Qur’an) in Mecca – transformed the Saudi Arabia, making it the apex of one of the world’s major religions. This tour not only discovers glorious Islamic sites, but also teaches some of this country’s most important values and traditions.
Departing 7-15 November, led by Georgios Papaioannou. Prices from £3,125 pp*. - The Turquoise Trail: Exploring Moctezuma’s Mexico
One of Neil MacGregor’s chosen objects, the double-headed serpent was probably given to the invading Cortez by Aztec emperor Moctezuma: a pivotal moment of deference. Turquoise was enormously prized by the Aztecs: this tour follows the turquoise trail, from northernmost Mexico right through to the Aztec powerhouse at Teotihuacan (Mexico City).
Departing 16-30 September, led by Colin McEwan. Prices from £3,250 pp*. - Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan
The Byzantine Empire was vast: its members belonged to many ethnic groups and spoke a plethora of languages. Religion played a key role in uniting them – this tour traces how early Christianity and Islam became interwoven with each area’s pagan traditions, and thus inspired a magnificent architectural heritage.
Departing 18 September – 1 October, led by Michael Rogers. Prices from £2,995 pp*.
*Prices include flights from London, all transfers, and the services of tour staff and the lecturer. Call The Traveller on 020 7269 2770 (www.the-traveller.co.uk).
Ends – January 2010
Notes for Editors: The Traveller (020 7269 2770; www.the-traveller.co.uk) is the UK’s leading specialist in historical, archaeological and cultural tours. With an average group size of 12, its tours are informal and entertaining, and don’t require prior knowledge of the subject or destination.
Press: Richard Mellor at Travel PR on 020 8891 4440 or r.mellor@travelpr.co.uk.