For a traveler in Cambodia, Laos, or Thailand, there is no more satisfying experience than to step out of the noise and commotion of the city into the quiet space of a Buddhist temple. Monks in saffron robes move lightly through the courtyards, men and women make offerings or sit quietly in meditation, and in the background sits the graceful image of the Buddha. After all the anxieties of travel – of buses, travel guides, plane schedules, hawkers, and crowds – the effect is almost otherworldly. It feels as if the whole space of the temple were teaching the basic lessons of Buddhism: quiet, simplicity, detachment, and a sense of stillness in the midst of everyday experience. With this simple lesson comes a series of fundamental questions: How does this sense of stillness relate to the complexity of Southeast Asian society, to the rise and fall of empires, to the way people marry, raise families, accumulate wealth, and cope with adversity? How does this stillness relate to the undercurrent of violence that has torn so many Southeast Asian societies apart? And how does it relate to all the challenges of the modern world, from the rise of the global economy to the arrival of the cell phone?

There is no better way to explore these questions than to dive into the complex and vibrant cultures of Cambodia and Laos. After emerging from the catastrophe of the Khmer Rouge and the aftermath of the Vietnam War, both countries have seen a resurgence of their Buddhist traditions and have rediscovered the incredible riches of their past. Recent archaeological discoveries in Cambodia and Laos have helped us appreciate the achievement of one of the most impressive urban civilizations in human history. From Angkor Wat to the lesser-known splendors of Sambor Prei Kuk and Banteay Srei, it is possible not only to experience archaeological sites of extraordinary beauty, but to think through the complex currents of Southeast Asian civilization. Hindu traditions involving the worship of Shiva and Vishnu combine with the different crosscurrents of Indian Buddhism to produce a culture of astonishing vitality and diversity. There are images of gods and goddesses, sages, dancers, monks, and kings, to say nothing of snakes, elephants, monkeys, and myriads of fantastic animals and birds. And this imagery is only the beginning of the experience. All of these iconographic elements serve a unified vision in which the king and the deity sit at the center of a sacred cosmos, mapped by the structure of a sacred city. It is hard to walk through the gates of these sacred sites and not feel the power of that vision.

The connection between Khmer civilization and the vision of a sacred landscape is even more visible when we cross into southern Laos and visit the pilgrimage site of Wat Phu, situated under a mountain peak that bears an uncanny resemblance to the sacred symbol of Shiva. Buddhist practice in modern Laos revolves around the morning offering of food to monks. A Buddhist monk is literally a “beggar” (bhikkhu), and this act of begging ties a monk not only to the life-story of the Buddha but also to the lay supporters who make up the structure of a Buddhist society. At the end of our journey, in Luang Prabang, we will get a first-hand glimpse of the relationship of lay people, monks, and kings, and we will be able to rise at dawn to make our own offering to the monks. If we are lucky, that gesture will carry with it a lasting impression not only of the Buddha’s stillness, but of the complexity and vibrancy of its expression in the culture of modern Southeast Asia.

Author Biography:

Malcolm David Eckel studied Sanskrit at Oxford and received his Ph.D from Harvard University in comparative religion with special emphasis on the Buddhist traditions of India, Tibet, and Southeast Asia. He is the Dean of the Core Curriculum and Associate Professor of Religion at Boston University where he has taught courses on Buddhism, comparative religion, and the religions of Asia. Professor Eckel has been a recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship and the Metcalf Award for Teaching Excellence, Boston University’s highest award for teaching. Professor Eckel is a popular lecturer on The Teaching Company’s lecture series. He is a scholar of Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Pali (the language of the earliest extant Buddhist canon). In addition to many articles, he has published two books on Buddhism: To See the Buddha: A Philosopher’s Quest for the Meaning of Emptiness and Buddhism: Origins, Beliefs, Practices, Holy Texts, Sacred Places. He is currently working on a book on the traditional classifications of Buddhist philosophy in India and Tibet.

Far Horizons has meticulously chosen a route that by-passes most big cities and instead concentrates on remote archaeological and historical sites (sometimes well-known, sometimes not), and the wonderful small pubs and inns that dot the lovely countryside of Scotland and England. Yes, we see Edinburgh Castle, York Minster, and Stonehenge. Ahh, but there is so much more. What about the royal palace of Linlithgow, where Mary Queen of Scots was born? Or Creswell Crags, occupied by hunters over 10,000 years ago? And then there is Flag Fen, where residents in 1350 BC fortified their meadows by constructing a long defensive wall using hundreds of thousands of timbers…

With only a few other and your knowledgeable study leader, Dr. James Bruhn, literally at the helm, you will learn about the history of this lively region. Enjoy meals and overnights in carefully chosen traditional and unspoiled pubs and inns, where you will be able to touch pint mugs with the local people while you savor delicious regional delicacies, washed down with the region’s best representatives of the British brewer’s art. A perfect end to the day’s explorations!

Travel with Far Horizons on our Archaeological Pub Crawl of Great Britain, September 16 – 28, 2012

Magnificent Hosap Castle was constructed by a Kurdish warlord in 1643. Van, the former Urartian capital of Tuşpa, where the mud fortress built in the 8thcentury B.C. still dominates the city. Akdamar Island’s breathtaking 10th-century church is resplendent with exquisite friezes depicting stories from the Old Testament. Urfa, or Şanlıurfa, with origins rooted in the Bronze Age and a famous religious and intellectual center during the Byzantine period. And on top of Mt. Nemrud, Antiochus built one of the world’s most amazing tombs. See all of this…but there’s more!

Far Horizons has specially arranged private tours of two of the most recent and exciting excavations. Ziyaret Tepe, continuously occupied for 2,400 years beginning in the Early Bronze Age, is one of the few sites in Turkey where cuneiform tablets have been found. And Göbekli Tepe, a site that has been causing quite a stir in the international news recently, may be the world’s oldest temple predating Stonehenge by 6,000 years.

Experience this fascinating world on Far Horizons’ trip with Professor John France to Eastern Turkey September 8 – 23, 2012.

Caves carved into the cliffs filled with brightly painted murals are some of western China’s best kept secrets. Located in the arid climate of the Gobi Desert, the Mogao Caves have preserved thousands of sculptures and paintings of Buddha for over 1500 years. Myth has it that the first of the grottos was created by a monk named Lejun. When passing along the Silk Road, he saw a mountain that gleamed with reflected rays from the sun that looked like a manifestation of thousands of Buddhas. He declared it the holy land of the Buddhists and with the help of local craftsmen dug the first deep hollow in the steep cliff and adorned it with colorful paintings. When the news spread, more and more believers did the same.

There are a total of 735 caves many containing murals of the life of Buddha, picturesque and finely-painted landscapes, pavilions as well as scenes of ancient Chinese people’s work and life. These scenes depict the folklore and historical changes of over 1,500 years of Chinese history. In 1900, the cave of Buddhist scriptures was discovered and Mogao Caves came to the world’s attention.

The Caves of Dunhuang, authored by Fan Jinshi, Director of the Dunhuang Academy has recently been published by Scala. The book provides a detailed description of 50 caves at Mogao and other sites near Dunhuang.

Join Far Horizons on China’s Silk Road, and enjoy specially-arranged openings of caves closed to the public and lunch hosted by the staff of the Dunhuang Academy.

The sight of the intricately carved temples at Hampi was mesmerizing. I tried to capture it all on camera – every dancer, every Shiva, every pillar – but quickly realized that it would take a lifetime to photograph everything I wished to remember. In Cochin, we had the opportunity for a little “souvenir shopping.” When you enter a store, everything sparkles and beckons to be purchased, but precious few things are as enticing as the touch of fine silk, ornately woven into beautiful saris and scarves. As we slowly meandered through the labyrinth of backwaters aboard a houseboat in Kerala, the sound of the boat’s motors against the peaceful backdrop of the verdant rice paddies made me feel transported back in time, if not to a completely different world.

Our journey took us through the Spice Mountains on our way to Tamil Nadu, and we stopped at a spice village for a nature walk. The smell of fresh cardamom, pepper and cinnamon lingered in the air and reminded us of delicious meals already savored. And, oh, the food… En route to Madurai our guide encouraged a stop at a street-food vendor, who artfully prepared a local dish called protta with lamb, egg, bread, tomatoes and onion. Leary at first, we all grabbed a handful and as soon as this flavorful concoction met my mouth, my taste buds began to dance!

Even as the last item from my suitcase is stored away until my next adventure, I know that my time in South India will not soon be forgotten.

“Er-min-a-boo!” This is how I greet the man who is about to guide me through the desert on a camel. After a brief confused pause, he looks at our Egyptian guide and asks, “You taught her to speak Nubian?” That actually exhausted 50% of my Nubian vocabulary, but this type of insider’s knowledge about Egyptian culture (and history) made our 2012 Majesty of Egypt tour a truly unique experience.

At the great pyramids, Bob Brier pointed out inscribed blocks attesting to the builders’ pride in this monumental building project. This detail vividly filled out the ancient social context: powerful rulers with the ability to efficiently apply vast resources towards their own monumental funerary monuments, and free members of the society proud to be a part of it! Set on the edge of modern politically vibrant Cairo, the juxtaposition is thought provoking. On a separate note, for someone with a degree in Greek archaeology, the solar boat museum was unbelievable. A complete, millennia-old, wooden boat! Nowhere else in the world could this be preserved!

In Luxor, forward in time and up the Nile, we witnessed the cutting-edge technology of the Epigraphic Survey of the Oriental Institute of Chicago, reconstructing the history of Medinet Habu, one of the most important sites for connecting Egypt to its greater Mediterranean context. Mingling with the researchers, conservators, artists and stone masons shed light on the often invisible but crucial process of archaeological fieldwork.

Bob and Pat standing in front of a male statue describing how we can tell if it is Queen Hatshepsut or a male Pharaoh, prompted thoughts on perceptions of reality and framing history. It made me realize how impossible it is to approach Egypt looking for “The” belle époque of Pharonic Egypt or Islamic Cairo. Because so many different historical periods coexist, they enrich our understanding of all of them and the present, which (to me) makes Egypt so special. I guess such a meaningful dichotomy makes sense in a land where the contrast between the Nile valley and the desert has shaped life for Millennia.

And the focus on Egypt is equally dazzling! In Liverpool we go behind the scenes at both the Garstang Museum with the Director (and excavator in the western desert of Egypt), Dr. Steven Snape, and the World Museum with Egyptian curator Dr. Ashley Cooke. Each will give a private tour of the exhibits and bring out artifacts from storage rooms for us to actually pick up and view. At the University of Oxford, we will examine the Egyptian collection at the renowned Ashmolean Museum, and in London we tour the extensive collection at the British Museum, housing some of the most precious and outstanding Egyptian artifacts ever uncovered. With any luck, we’ll have a private tour at Highclere Castle, the home of Lord Carnarvon who funded Howard Carter’s excavations, where the intimate collection of notes and journals recount the glorious tale of opening King Tutankhamun’s tomb.

Won’t you join me for this unusual journey?

Bob Brier

Turkey rivals only Italy in the depth of its cultural heritage; arguably, it even outstrips it. With a history traceable back into the Stone Age, few places you can visit lay claim to such a deep and rich historical tapestry. Three sites in particular illustrate these points.

Hattusas was the capital city of the Hittites, the only imperial power to rule their realm from inland Anatolia. Here the Hittites, at their most powerful between 1400 and 1200 BCE, erected massive structures of mudbrick on stone foundations. From this city, home to perhaps 40,000 at its height, the Hittites reached the Aegean Sea to the west and challenged the Pharoahs of Egypt for control of Syria to their south.

The other premier Bronze Age site in Turkey is Troy, in the North Western corner of the country. It is, to be sure, a small site in comparison to the likes of Hattusas or Ephesus, but few places are more evocative. Tales of the Trojan War form one of the cardinal cycles of Greek myth, endlessly retold in the poetry of Homer, the tragedies of the classical Greek dramatists, and almost all media of art (including modern film). At the site of Troy, excavated since 1870, you will stand on this storied ground yourself and survey the complexities of what has been found there, how it relates to Homeric epic (if at all), and what it all means. A dazzling experience.

Finally, there is Ephesus. One of the richest Greek cities on the ancient coast of Asia Minor, home to one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (the Temple of Artemis), and the Roman city, the capital city of the province of Asia, one of the richest regions of the empire. The ruins of the city cannot conceal this former prosperity: marbled and porticoes streets, vast bath complexes, commemorative arches, a huge theater, affluent houses ranged on a hillside near the forum with marble wall panels, mosaics and frescoes still in place – all bespeak the former power and richness of this magnificent city.

At all three of these sites, Far Horizons has arranged private tours of the excavations… And this is just the tip of the iceberg. There is the bizarre, alien landscape of Cappadocia, riddled with rock-cut dwellings and Byzantine churches; the holy city of Konya, birthplace of the whirling Dervishes; the mountaintop city of Sagalassos affording spectacular views of the valleys and plains below; and, of course, the majesty of Constantinople/Istanbul, a city at once ancient and modern, classical and cosmopolitan, marvelously sited at the mouth of the Bosphorus straits that separate Europe from Asia. Turkey has it all, and it’s there for your taking!

Travel with Professor Garrett Fagan of Teaching Company fame on the Turkish Treasures trip, September 15-30, 2012.

I would like to invite you to accompany me on a trip to Greece that I’m leading for Far Horizons this coming May. Greece holds a special place in my heart. As a student I lived in Athens for five years researching and writing my doctoral thesis. My fondest memories include wandering the streets of the Plaka en route to the Acropolis, traipsing through the Attic countryside looking for ruined walls, and excavating a Minoan village in the mountains of Crete. And even though I’ve returned to Greece many times since those days, the sites we visit on this tour still astound me!

The dramatic setting of the Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi standing backlit against the mountains the ancient Greeks called the Phaedriades (the “shining ones”) alone illuminates why it developed into one of the most sacred sites in Greek world and beyond; the scores of politically charged monuments make us ponder how these spheres intertwined. Similar questions are shrouded in the quiet dignity of Olympia, where heroes and leaders emerged in competitions honoring Zeus. The sheer cliffs of Santorini, glowing white against the blue Mediterranean Sea, frame an island situated in the midst of history for thousands of years. I especially want to share with you the sites off the tourist track that were central to Greek life, like the sanctuary of Artemis at Brauron, where the rituals of Athenian girls give us a glimpse at how ancient gender roles are forged. I want to share all of these experiences with you, and much more.

We will explore how the research at these sites shaped our understanding of Greek history. And our specially arranged private tours will give us a sneak peak at the future of the field. May is a wonderful time to be in Greece. The weather is mild, there are few other tourists and the red poppies are still blooming in the meadows. I hope to see you there.

Jennifer Tobin