Our expert tour guides
The guides who lead our escorted holidays in Turkey, Greece, and Sicily, are true specialists - archaeologists, historians and travel writers - natural enthusiasts steeped in Turkish, Greek, and Sicilian history and culture. We choose our tour guides not just because they are extremely knowledgeable, but because they are great communicators and friendly hosts. They are there to bring the history and archaeological sites to life. They are also there to make your holiday in Turkey, Greece, or Sicily as enjoyable, relaxing, and inspirational as possible.
Peter Sommer
Peter studied Ancient History and Archaeology at Birmingham University before completing a Masters on the archaeology of Central Asia. He has taught at Birmingham University and Istanbul’s Bogazici University. Two years into a PhD. at University College London, he was seduced into television to work on In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great (BBC/PBS).
An award winning documentary producer, he has shot around the world for acclaimed series like Millennium: A thousand years of history (BBC/CNN), Commanding Heights: the Battle for the World Economy (PBS/BBC), and his most recent, Tales from the Green Valley, shown on BBC2 in autumn 2005.
Dr. Michael Metcalfe
Like Peter, Michael studied for his PhD. at University College London, however Michael took the trouble to actually finish his - focusing on the ancient Greek cities of western Turkey!
For many years Michael was Assistant Professor in Ancient History at The Mediterranean Center for Arts and Sciences in Sicily, before joining us full time in January 2009. He speaks Greek, Italian, and Turkish. Michael has led many gulet tours for us previously, and received rapturous praise. Not only is he ‘enthusiastic, charming, and knowledgeable’, he is also a natural born organiser. We are delighted to have him onboard as one of our team.
Serdar Akerdem
Peter has been working with Serdar since 1999, when Serdar acted as the local fixer on a BBC/CNN documentary series Peter was filming around the Antalya region of Turkey.
A man of many talents, not only is he a highly experienced location manager and tour guide, Serdar is a genteel, enthusiastic and knowledgeable archaeologist. He has lectured at a number of Turkish universities, and excavated and surveyed widely along Turkey’s southern shore, including major work at Patara, Tlos, and Kaunos. His major passions are Roman architecture and maritime archaeology. With his intimate understanding of the Turkish language, culture, and of course ancient sites, Serdar is a very valued member of our tour leaders.
Dr. Alan Greaves
A lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Liverpool, in 2005 Alan was one of 50 British university lecturers to win a National Teaching Fellowship for their inspiring teaching. There can’t be many archaeologists that have acted as tour guide to American Presidents. Alan Greaves is one of them, having escorted Bill Clinton around Ephesus.
He has spent many years excavating sites right across Europe – in France, the UK (at Hadrian’s Wall), and especially in Turkey. He knows western Turkey intimately, having spent 7 summer seasons digging at Miletos, and has written one of the definitive books on the history of this most influential of ancient Greek metropolises.
Heinrich Hall
Fluent in 4 languages (including Greek), Heinrich has lectured at Trinity College Dublin and was for many years the Assistant Director of the Irish Institute at Athens. A resident of Athens, he writes a weekly archaeology page in Greece’s oldest English-language paper, the Athens News, and has a weekly radio slot on the same topic.
He has excavated throughout the Eastern Mediterranean, and has an infectious enthusiasm for the history, traditions, cuisine, music and modern culture of the area. An experienced and popular tour guide, he is currently finishing his PhD. for University College Dublin, and is Co-Editor of the Blue Guide to the Aegean Islands.
Jeremy Seal
Peter first met Jeremy on the gulet Almira when he took part in our very first Sailing the Lycian Shore tour back in 1997. You can read his piece about this gulet cruise for The Sunday Times).
Jeremy is an award-winning travel writer and author of Turkey-based travelogues A Fez of the Heart, and Santa: A Life. Other books include The Snakebite Survivors’ Club, and The Wreck at Sharpose Point. He is a regular contributor to the travel pages of the Sunday Times, Sunday Telegraph, Conde Nast Traveller, and numerous other publications. He has presented TV documentaries and is a regular on radio programmes like Radio 4’s ‘Excess Baggage’. He has tutored on numerous residential courses in creative travel writing, and is a charming and witty host with an extensive knowledge of the Turkish coastline.
Dr. Nigel Spivey
Peter had the good fortune of directing Nigel a few years back in a documentary about Britain’s ancient monuments. We are absolutely delighted that he is one of our tour leaders.
Nigel is a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge University, where he teaches Classical Art and Archaeology. His books include The Ancient Olympics, Greek Art, and Panorama of the Classical World. A renowned TV presenter, his credits include How Art Made the World (BBC), Kings and Queens, and Heroes of World War II. He’s also an experienced tour lecturer. His knowledge and passion make him an ideal guide in bringing Turkey’s past to life.
Dr. Jennifer Tobin
Peter met Jennifer digging at the ancient city of Issus back in 1994 at the end of his Alexander walk. We are delighted she is part of our team.
Jennifer is Associate Professor of Classics at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has dug in Turkey, Israel, and Greece, speaks Greek and Turkish, and published widely on everything from Roman architecture in Syria to Alexander the Great as a builder. A renowned tour leader, noted for her passion and enthusiasm, she has been leading trips in Turkey since 1993 for companies and institutions such as the Smithsonian.
