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Mud Brick archaeological sites are by their nature dusty places. However, they are rarely rocky and nearly always built in places with low rainfall so rarely wet, meaning fills are often loose, dry and easy to remove.

All good things for the archaeologist.…

Jeddah, a bustling modern city and commercial hub, often called “The Bride of the Red Sea” has been an important city to civilisation in the Arabian Peninsula for 1500 years or so.

The second largest city in Saudi Arabia, with a population, and estimates vary widely, of nearly three million…

Hi friends!

My name is Dr Simon Elliott and I am a historian, archaeologist, and broadcaster. I am also honoured to be a Guide Lecturer for Andante Travels. I currently have nine books on sale, all on themes regarding the ancient world, and I thought I would share with you…

From Oliver Gilkes

Many Andante guests have met the local guides who work as our colleagues on tours far and wide. These are the people who generally work in the background, arranging and organising, trying to ensure that the site will be open, and the hotel is expecting us and…

The Highways and Byways of East Anglia are home to a host of myths, legends and stories. Take the tale of Black Shuk for instance, the enormous night-black hound who is said to haunt crossroads and graveyards. The beast, whose footfalls are near silent, sometimes seen as cyclops like with…

The ancient cities of the Arabs are dramatic, the classical facades of Petra in Jordan, the medieval towers of Sanna in war-torn Yemen, Little Petra in Saudi Arabia, and on the borders of the great waste of the Empty Quarter Qaryat Al-Faw, once known as the ’City of Gardens’. Roger…

I am thrilled that Andante Travels has agreed to add a new Egypt tour in 2021, taking travellers off the beaten track to some of the less visited sites (but still making sure we visit the must-sees (the Valley of the Kings and Karnak Temple, plus optional visits to Giza…

by Dr Simon Elliott

My name is Dr Simon Elliott and I’ve been a Guide Lecturer for the fabulous Andante Travels for the past two years. I take tours, in normal times, to Rome, the Roman Bay of Naples, and a tour in the UK following the route taken by…

                                                                                by Dr Simon Elliott

In 2018, Greenhills Books published my third – and my best-selling – book to date. This covered the amazing story of the AD 209 and AD 210 campaigns in Scotland of Septimius Severus, when the great warrior emperor led a force of 50,000 legionaries and…

Following on from the success of its cruises, Andante is introducing a series of new itineraries where the conduits are important ancient roads instead of rivers or the Mediterranean. Journeying across these ancient arteries brings antiquity to life both in the sense that we are able to relive famous events…