Upcoming Departures
We have just returned from our journey exploring the crafts and cultures of Central Asia! Our 2024 tour of Egypt is currently sold out. To be added to the waitlist please email isac-communications@uchicago.edu. Join us in April, 2025, for an epic cruise around the Aegean Sea!
In June of 2022 we returned to travel with a tour of Turkey and Greece, transporting ISAC travelers to the very intersections where East meets West. In October of 2022, we set out even further, on a multi country tour across the Mediterranean, to explore the impact that the Phoenicians had on the region. We wrapped up 2022 with a grand tour of Egypt. In 2023 we set our sights on France, Israel, and Egypt. In 2024/25 we embarked on a tour to Central Asia, we return to Egypt to celebrate 100 years of ISAC fieldwork at Luxor, and set sail on a luxury cruise around Turkey and Greece!
Epic Journey Across Time: Heroes, Saints & Emperors
Led by Tim Harrison, ISAC Director
Leg one: April 9–18, 2025: Cyprus, Rhodes & The Turquoise Coast
Leg two: April 16–26, 2025: Asia Minor, Eastern Macedonia & Thrace
Full cruise: April 9–26, 2025
This April, we step back in time to explore the lavish treasures of Byzantine emperors and seafarers on a cruise aboard the elegant Emerald Azzurra yacht. Join your host, ISAC director, Tim Harrison, on a journey that takes you to Byzantine frescoes, lavish tombs, and world heritage sites in Turkey, Greece, and Cyprus. Cruise around less visited ports, marvel at clifftop Venetian castles, and join us on excursions to Ephesus, Troy, Meteora, and Athens on this luxury experience.
In addition to Tim Harrison, ISAC travelers will be joined by curators from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and faculty from Princeton and Emory for lectures and discussions about the art, history, archaeology, and religion of the region.
This tour is offered in two 10-day legs, with the option to combine both for one 18-day excursion.
From April 9–18, 2025, we set sail on Epic Journey Across Time: Cyprus, Rhodes & Turkey’s Lycian Coast: Explore the world’s largest divided capital city, the birthplace of Aphrodite, and stunning Byzantine frescoes as we sail less-traveled shores. Highlights of this cruise include submerged ancient ruins, Neolithic settlements, Roman villas, and Crusader Castles.
From April 16–26, 2025, we embark on Byzantium, Devotion & Domination: Turkey to Greece, a cruise that will send you sailing over the legendary waters of Homer’s Odyssey, in the paths of the ancient Greeks, Macedonians, Romans, Jews, Byzantines, Venetians, and Ottomans. This leg of the tour will visit the Library of Celsus in Ephesus, survey field work at Troy, scale the monasteries at Meteora, and give you an option to observe an Orthodox Easter service in Greece.
There are also opportunities to embark on a pre-tour prelude to Cappadocia from April 4-10, and Istanbul.
Click here for the full itinerary and pricing.
To register, contact Arrangement’s Abroad at 1-800-221-1944 or through email at: trips@arrangementsabroad.com.
For more information, please email mwelton@uchicago.edu.
Our 2024 tour to Israel has been postponed to a later date.
Past Departures
The Crafts and Cuisine of the Silk Road, and ISAC tour of Central Asia
June 10 –27, 2024
Led by Gil Stein, Rowe Professor in Ancient Near Eastern Studies, ISAC, Director of the Chicago Center for Cultural Heritage Preservation, University of Chicago
Destinations include: Ashgabat, Merv, Kunya Urgench, Nukus, Muynak, Khiva, Bukhara, Samarakand, Tashkent, and the Fergana Valley
Join us on a journey that explores the traditional crafts and foods of Central Asia. We set out on the Silk Road, travel through epic landscapes and marvel at modern architecture as we come face to face with artisans who continue to practice the crafts that were essential commodities along one of world’s most monumental trade routes. Travel with us and visit Bronze Age archaeological sites at the foothills of the Kopet Dag Mountains, drop in at a ghost town by the Aral Sea, take in the ambience at ancient workshops, and discuss the importance of cultural heritage at some of the regions most important museums. We are excited to explore the Fergana Valley on this tour, it is a first time ISAC destination!
While the full brochure is coming soon, please read the itinerary and pricing here.
The Wonders of Ancient Egypt
Our Egypt tours sell out fast. To be included on a wait list, please email mwelton@uchicago.edu.
For 100 years, the ISAC has been a leading force in rediscovering the ancient landscape of Egypt. Join us as we drive, fly, and cruise the Nile on a journey that puts you in the footsteps of ISAC founder James Henry Breasted. Personal site tours and briefings by archaeologists and experts in the field give you unprecedented access to a country steeped in mystery and filled with wonder.
