The primary purpose of the program is to introduce participants to the "gleaming cities of Asia," which illustrate much that is best and most impressive of the Greek and Roman cultural achievement. Due attention must, of course, be paid to the historical pattern of settlement and cultural domination common to much of the area. We will discuss the very early intellectual and artistic contributions of Asian Greece and the continuing cultural role played by Ionia throughout the Roman period, down to and including the missionary activity of St. Paul, among others. We will surely discuss the radical transformation of what had been an important center of Christian culture into a Muslim country; the Blue Mosque and other Turkish structures will illustrate the triumph of Muslim culture and the influence of Classical forms on Turkish religious architecture.

Day 1 (June 30): Istanbul: Arrive in Istanbul, if not already there. Depart with our guide on a panoramic city sightseeing tour. Early evening check in at our hotel. Dinner and overnight in Istanbul. (B, D)

Day 2 (July 1): Istanbul - Eminonu - Sadberk Hanm - Istanbul. (B, L) Morning sightseeing beginning at the famous Byzantine City walls and the Chora Church adorned with beautifully restored frescos and mosaics from the Ottoman period. Drive to Eminonu and board a ferry for a Bosphorus cruise to Sariyer. Upon arrival, visit the Sadberk Hanm Museum, which houses an impressive archeological and ethnological exhibit. After lunch in a local fish restaurant, continue aboard the ferry to Ortakoy for a walk along the boardwalk and visit the Yildiz Palace in Besiktas, a former Sultan's palace where art exhibits are held. Return to Istanbul in the late afternoon. Overnight in Istanbul. (B)

Day 3 (July 2): Istanbul: Morning departure for a visit to the Underground Cistern, the Hagia Sophia, the oldest Byzantine Basilica in Constantinople, and the beautiful Blue Mosque with its unique six minarets and fabulous ceramic detailing. After lunch, visit the Topkapi Palace museum, situated in the former residence of the Ottoman Sultans. Late afternoon free to wander through the Grand Bazaar with its more than 4,000 shops. Overnight in Istanbul. (B, D)

Day 4 (July 3): Istanbul - Eceabat - Troy: After breakfast and check out, depart Istanbul. This morning by motorcoach and ferry we make our way to the ancient site of Troy. Continue by motorcoach to Troy with a lunch stop enroute. Afternoon arrival in Troy for an extensive site visit of this famous city. Our sightseeing will include the recent excavations of New Testament Troy and the museum. Continue to the site of Troas to view the recent excavations of the ancient harbor, public buildings, and city gates. Overnight in Canakkale. (B, L, D)

Day 5 (July 4): Canakkale - Assos - Pergamum - Kusadasi (B, L, D) After breakfast and checkout, we depart for Assos for a visit to the acropolis, the temple of Athena, the remains of the theatre, the city walls and the new excavations. After lunch, continue to the fascinating site of Pergamum. The site visit includes the theatre, the library, the Trajaneum, the temple of Athena and the healing center dedicated to Asclepius. Early evening arrival in Kusadasi. Check in at our centrally located hotel. (B)

Day 6 (July 5): Kusadasi - Sardis - Ephesus - Kusadasi: Morning departure for Sardis, the ancient city that housed the largest synagogue in the ancient world and the earliest Byzantine church. Visit the Artemis Temple and the large gymnasium complex. Continue to the ancient city of Ephesus for a tour of this evocative site. Our tour will include a visit to the Basilica of St. John and an opportunity to view the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Continue to the Ephesus archaeological museum in Seljuk. Return to Kusadasi this evening. (B, L, D)

Day 7 (July 6): Kusadasi - Priene - Miletus - Didyma - Bodrum: Breakfast and check out. This morning, depart for the Hellenistic remains of Priene, built in the height of the Ionian culture. Continue to the remains of the Temple of Apollo at Didyma, well known through the ancient world as a center of culture and philosophy. Lunch overlooking the ruins of this colossal temple. Afternoon sightseeing continues at the remains of the religious sanctuary at Miletus and its colossal temple within a temple that was never completed after an effort that last 500 years to build it. Evening arrival in the lovely harbor town of Bodrum. Dinner and overnight. (B, L, D)

Day 8 (July 7): Bodrum: Our morning excursion includes a visit to the Myndos Gates and the Mausoleum of Halikarnasos, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. End the morning exploring the 15th century Crusader castle currently housing the A&M Museum of Underwater Archaeology. This incredible complex includes two Byzantine and one Bronze Age shipwrecks found off the coast of Turkey, as well as the intact remains of a Carian princess' tomb dating to the time of Alexander the Great. Afternoon and evening at leisure to enjoy the wonderful ambience of Bodrum. (B)

Day 9 (July 8): Bodrum - Aphrodisias - Antalya: Depart by motorcoach for the ancient site of Aphrodisias. Our site visit will include the Roman stadium and the museum of Greco-Roman sculpture. (B, D)

Day 10 (July 9): Antalya - Aspendos - Perge- Antalya: Afternoon excursion to Aspendos, the site of a beautifully preserved Roman theater. Continue to Perge, a Greco-Roman city once considered one of the most important cities of ancient Pamphylia and of early Christianity. Afternoon arrival in Antalya for a visit to the Archaeological Museum, which houses exhibits dating from the Paleolithic Age to the Ottoman. (B, D)

Day 11 (July 10): Antalya - Istanbul - United States: Depart this morning for our return flight to Istanbul, with the possibility of connecting service onward to the United States. (B)

Cultural Encounters can assist you in obtaining your visa for Turkey and travel to/from the tour's starting point. For further information, please contact

Cultural Encounters
P.O. Box 50284
Austin, Texas 78763
Phone: 800-554-5987 Fax: 973-616-7016
E-mail: hartravel@earthlink.com

Patricia Johnston (Brandeis) and Marilyn Skinner (Arizona)

On this study tour, we propose to visit selected cult sites, focusing on the goddesses Diana, Juno, Cybele and Isis, and the Hero cults associated with them in Latium and Campania. We will examine the original character of the local cult and its relationship to the surrounding community, changes and continuities when it became part of an overarching "Roman" religious system, and perseverance as a sacred locale after the emergence of Christianity. Although we will naturally include many sites important for their special significance to Vergilian poetry and Augustan culture, we plan to take in several new places not usually incorporated into Vergilian Society tour itineraries, such as the Temple of Fortuna Primigenia at Palestrina and the Temple of Diana Tifatina in the vicinity of Capua. Such an exposure to the general assumptions of Roman and Greek religious worship and their manifestations in particular cults should benefit practicing and prospective teachers of classical languages, literature, and cultures at all levels and also appeal to members of the general public with an interest in the ancient cults and mysteries.

Day 3 Rome to Cuma Embark on bus from Villa Maria. Visit to Palestrina. View site of Temple of Fortuna from below. Museum: location, design; potnioi theron (male and female) with wings [same figures later at Capua museum]; cistae; statue of Capitoline Triad (contrast with local substitution of Diana for Juno at Capua); oracular shrine near Duomo. En route: information about cults of Diana Nemorensis and Juno of Lanuvium. Arrive at Villa.

Day 5 Baiae: Thermae: Oracular shrine; baths; temples of Venus, Diana, Nymphaea; take glass-bottom boat to see Via Herculanea; Evening: Castello di Baiae: special emphasis on cult of the Augustales (mention statue of Fortuna); statues from temple of Apollo at Rione Terra (if that exhibit has opened).

Day 7 Paestum: Sele, visit small museum and site, and then proceed to Paestum, tour site with emphasis on Hera and Herakles; Paestum Museum: Materials from Heraion, Hypogeum, Apulian red-figure vase with birth of Aphrodite; Greek views of the after-life: Lucanian tombs and tomb of the Diver; Church of Madonna del Granato; Talk about Velia and cult of Aesculapius (visit site if it is open by then).

Day 11 Benevento: Arch of Trajan and Samnite Museum, with Isis materials.

Day 13 Departure for Rome: Arrive at the Centro in Rome in the late afternoon

Linda Fabrizio (Classical Association of the Empire State) & Madeleine Henry (Iowa State)

Day 2: Full day on Ischia (Greek Pithekoussai). Visit to two archeological museums. Afternoon visit to spa. Dinner and overnight at Villa.

Day 3: Travel to Paestum (Poseidonia). Visit site and museum. Drive to Matera for dinner and overnight.

Day 4: Visit Matera and the sassi (cave dwellings) in morning. Travel to Taranto in afternoon. Dinner and overnight in Taranto.

Day 6: Travel to Alberbello to visit the trulli. Return to Taranto for dinner and overnight.

Day 7: Leave Taranto for Crotone (ancient Croton). Visit Metaponto and Policoro (Heraclea, site of Pyrrhus' "victory") and Sibaris en route. Dinner and overnight in Crotone.

Day 8; Visit archeological museum and Hera's sanctuary in Croton. Discussions of Pythagorean brotherhood located here. Dinner and overnight in Crotone.

Day 9: Leave Croton for Naples with morning stop at Cosenza. Dinner and overnight at Villa.

Day 10: Visit ancient Greek (Parthenope) and Roman Naples. Archeological (and possibly Capodimonte) Museum. Dinner and overnight at Villa.

Day 11: Day trip to Beneventum, site of Roman conflict with Pyrrhus. Dinner and overnight at Villa.

Day 12: Visit Pozzuoli, ancient Greek and Roman city. Afternoon beach romp at Cape Misenum. Farewell dinner and overnight at Villa,.

Day 13: Arrive at the Centro in Rome in the late afternoon

Steven E. Ostrow (MIT) and Ann O. Koloski-Ostrow (Brandeis)

Our program will highlight major questions of the urban planning and design that make the enchanted terrain along the Bay of Naples so rich a showcase of Greek and Roman solutions to the problems of daily life in antiquity. Graeco-Roman approaches to colonization; the continuity of pre-Greek and pre-Roman settlements with their succeeding inhabitants; problems of functional layout (street grids, water supply, availability of public latrines, public space versus private, "zoning" for discrete public purposes); connections -- physical, social, economic -- between town and country: all these are among the potential avenues for exploration, and the splendid array of ancient Campanian sites offers an unparalleled landscape from which to choose proving grounds for them all.

NOTE: All meals included, except three evening meals at Sorrento, & lunch on Capri;

Itinerary (subject to change, owing to unforeseen circumstances):

Day 1: Monday August 5 (9:00 a.m.): assemble in the Courtyard of the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome (19 Via Algardi); departure for Villa Vergiliana (Cuma); visit Terracina (Jupiter Anxur Temple) and Sperlonga (Villa & Grotto of Tiberius, Museum)

Day 3: Wednesday August 7: Pompeii I: focus on the public town (Forum, theaters, baths, religion), and a glimpse at the domestic (initial sampling of houses)

Day 4: Thursday August 8: a.m.:Naples Archaeol. Museum: spoils of the great "Treasure Hunt"; p.m.: choose your option: more Museum, or walking tour of central Naples

Day 5: Friday August 9: Paestum (site and museum) -- "Poseidon's City" born Greek, Italianized, then Romanized

Day 6: Saturday August 10: a.m.: Herculaneum -- private mansions for the rich, tenements for the poor, bathing for all; a "frat house" for wealthy ex-slaves; p.m.: ascent of Mount Vesuvius (by bus)

Day 8: Monday August 12: Capri -- the "Villa Iovis" (Tiberius' ultimate retreat) (overnight @ Sorrento)

Day 9: Tuesday August 13: Oplontis (= Torre Annunziata) and Pompeii II: Housing for all, from Empress to slave (overnight @ Sorrento)

Day 10: Wednesday August 14: Amalfi Drive (Positano, Amalfi, Vietri) (return to Villa Vergiliana, Cuma)

Day 11: Thursday August 15: a.m.: Capua (Museum, Amphitheater, Mithraeum); p.m.: Royal Palace & Gardens of Caserta

Day 12: Friday August 16: The Western Edge of Naples Bay: Lake Avernus, Baiae, Bacoli, Misenum -- Imperial Baths, Piscina Mirabile, Vergilian echoes -- water needs of the Roman ruling class, the Roman poor, the Roman sailor

Day 13: Saturday August 17: a.m.: Naples: National Capodimonte Gallery, followed by bus tour of city; p.m.: departures

If you are participating in a trip that starts in Rome at the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies (otherwise known as the Centro) you will need to arrive by 9 a.m. of the day that your trip begins. At the end of your trip, your bus will drop you back at the Centro, probably in the late afternoon. You should have lodging reservations in Rome for the night immediately before and immediately after the trip. No international flight arrives early enough or leaves late enough to ensure a connection.

For information about the tours and information about and applications for Summer Scholarships, please contact the Vergilian Society Secretary Thomas Hayes at 22 Bluetop Road, East Setauket, NY 11733. His email is: VergSoc@aol.com.

You can also check the website at: www.Vergil.clarku.edu.