Our Expert Tour Guides
The guides who lead our tours, are true specialists. From archaeologists, historians and travel writers, they are natural enthusiasts steeped in the history and culture of our destination countries. 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 as relaxing and inspirational as possible.
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...
Marcello Baglioni
Marcello first began his love affair with Italian food and wine as an 8 year old sous-chef in the kitchen of his father’s Italian restaurant in Hollywood, California. He ended up going into the food business, working as the manager of a successful catering company, before moving to Sicily where he has lived for almost two decades, immersing himself..
Dr Richard Bayliss
After a degree in archaeology Richard lived in Turkey working at the British Institute in Ankara as a resident archaeologist. He has travelled widely around the country over many years, surveying and excavating many celebrated sites, from a church with its mosaics falling into the sea at Sinop, to the hidden rock-cut villages of Cappadocia and....
Professor Julian Bennett
Julian studied Archaeology at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, and has excavated in Britain, Germany, Romania and Turkey. He has taught at Bilkent University in Ankara since 1995 and has a particular interest in the history, archaeology and architecture of Roman and Byzantine Anatolia. Julian has appeared in many TV documentaries for...
Paul Beston
Inspired by finding a musket-ball in Gibraltar, Paul spent his childhood drawing Spartans, watching historical documentaries and devouring archaeology books. Paul studied Ancient History at King’s College, London, gaining a first, and then earned a distinction in his Masters. Alongside lecturing posts at King’s and Royal Holloway in London...
Dr Filip Budić
Steeped in the history and archaeology of Croatia, Filip has walked and travelled extensively across the mainland, coast and islands of his homeland. Passionate about history and archaeology since his childhood, he has worked on multiple excavations and surveys throughout Croatia as well as at sites in Kosovo, Germany, Greece, Israel and...
Professor Jim Crow
Jim Crow’s research interests focus on Roman Frontier Studies and Byzantine Archaeology. A graduate of Birmingham and Newcastle Universities, he directed the archaeological excavations on Hadrian’s Wall for the National Trust for most of the 1980s and has run field projects in Northumberland at High Rochester and Harbottle. He has served on...
Francesca Del Vecchio
Francesca is an art historian and professional tour guide who also specialises in museum education and art communication in the Campania region of Italy. A very welcoming and friendly Neapolitan, her passion and enthusiasm for this ancient city and the entire Campania Region is matched by her in-depth knowledge of its history...
Dr Sophy Downes
A passionate enthusiast of the ancient world, Sophy has travelled extensively for her studies, and devoted her life to understanding its myriad cultures. In between teaching appointments at the University of Edinburgh, University College London and the American University of Rome, she has lived for several years in Greece and Italy, and...
Dr Cathie Draycott
Cathie Draycott is an assistant professor in Classical Archaeology at Durham University. She specialises in the archaeology of Iron Age and Classical Anatolia, and in the study of art, visual culture and social identities. She has previously worked as a research fellow at the University of Oxford, Koç University in Istanbul and the British Institute...
Mislav Fileš
Mislav Fileš is currently finishing his PhD. in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Zagreb, where he also completed his graduate studies. He has received a series of scholarships and Excellence Awards for his academic achievements to date....
Andrea Giardina
Andrea Giardina is a born and bred Sicilian with the lava of Etna and the saltwater of the Mediterranean mixed in his veins. His passion for sport fishing, movie making and traveling has allowed him to indulge in a wealth of great adventures...
Maria Girtzi
Born in Thessaloniki, Maria is an Archaeologist and professional tour guide. She studied Archaeology and Art at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and did her postgraduate studies on Greek Archaeology (MA and PhD.) at the University of Birmingham in the UK. She has taught History, Archaeology and Art history at the Universities of...
Professor Olivier Henry
Olivier holds a Degree in ancient history, two Masters Degrees in ancient history and classical archaeology and a PhD from the University of Bordeaux. After a couple of years at the University of Illinois, lecturing on ancient architecture, he worked at the French Institute for Anatolian Studies, coordinating all French archaeological activities in Turkey...
Lucia Iacono
Born and bred in Siracusa (Sicily), Lucia studied for a BA in foreign languages and literature at the University of Catania. After a brief stint working as an English language teacher, she followed her heart and become a qualified tourist guide, specialising initially in the South-Eastern provinces of Ragusa and Siracusa. Lucia has over 20 years’ experience in...
Professor Ivana Jevtic
Ivana nurtured a passion for art and the past since her childhood. Growing up in the former Yugoslavia, she developed an interest for the history of the Balkans and studied art history at the University of Belgrade before receiving her doctorate at the University of Paris 1-Panthéon Sorbonne. A specialist in Byzantine art, architecture and history...
Nota Karamaouna
Born and bred in Athens, Nota has been travelling to Turkey, especially Cappadocia, for many years, captivated by its multicultural history, the spectacular landscape and the warm local hospitality. With a degree in Archaeology and Art History and a Masters in Byzantine Archaeology...
Nikos Lanser
Born to a Dutch father and a Greek mother in Rotterdam, Nikos Lanser was always interested in anything Greek. He studied and received a degree in ancient Greek history at Leiden University before working in broadcasting...
Valeria Lenuzza
Valeria is a very popular and extremely talented tour manager and guide on our Rome tour. After graduating in Classical studies, academic life took her to Athens, where she gained a Master’s in Aegean Prehistory...
Dr Michael Metcalfe
Michael earned his PhD at University College London, focusing on the ancient Greek cities in the Eastern Aegean Islands and Western Turkey. While finishing this research, Michael lived and worked in Athens and Ankara as well as London, and took up his first academic post as Assistant Professor in Ancient History at The Mediterranean Center...
Professor Graham Oliver
Graham undertook both his undergraduate and doctoral studies in Classics at Oxford University before moving to The University of Liverpool in 1994, where he taught until 2013. He then moved to Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island where he is Professor of Classics, Chair of Classics and Professor of History...
Anastasios Papadopoulos
As an archaeologist, Anatasasios has dug a huge variety of sites in Greece, covering thousands of years of its history – everything from the Neolithic to the mediaeval Byzantine era, particularly in his beloved north...
Robert Pitt
Robert Pitt is an historian specialising in ancient Greek inscriptions. After studying for a degree and Masters in Ancient History, he is in the process of completing his PhD. from Royal Holloway, University of London. He was Assistant Director of the British School of Archaeology at Athens...
Dr Spencer Pope
Spencer received his PhD in Classical Archaeology from Brown University, after studying and living in both Greece and Italy for several years, and is now Associate Professor in the Department of Classics at McMaster University in Ontario (Canada)...
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 Bogaziçi Üniversitesi (Bosphorus University). In 1994 he walked 2,000 miles across Turkey, retracing the route of Alexander the Great, and fell deeply...
Professor Tony Spawforth
Tony Spawforth is emeritus professor of ancient history at Newcastle University, UK, and has been visiting fellow at the British School at Athens and fellow of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton. A freelance writer, lecturer and broadcaster he is well known for presenting documentaries for the BBC such as Alexander The God King...
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 and Senior Lecturer in Classics...
Dr Peter Tomkins
Peter fell in love with Crete in 1991 on a gap year spent travelling in Greece. Arriving for a planned two-week visit, he was still there three months later pushing a wheel-barrow for the British School excavations at the Bronze Age town of Palaikastro in East Crete. After reading Classics at Oxford...
Caitlin White
Caitlin is a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin and the National University of Ireland, Galway. She has always had an interest in modern Irish history and is currently undertaking a PhD at Trinity College, Dublin...
