UPDATE February 2020

M A RT I N R A N D A L L T R AV E L A RT • A R C H I T E C T U R E • G A S T R ONO M Y • A R C H A E OLO G Y • H I S TORY • M U S I C

UPDATE February 2020 Newly-launched: Christmas & New Year | Middle East, Asia, Americas 2021

Dear traveller, Our Update: February 2020 gives you the chance to plan ahead – for December 2020 and into 2021. The eight tours we have designed to bridge Christmas this year are to Paris, Prague, Provence, as well as to Siena and Sicily. Holland and Milan complete the list, but there the alliteration runs out. We should also have our New Year tour to Berlin, but details will be confirmed once we have the music programme in early summer.

In the next couple of months our 2021 tours to Argentina, Peru, Cambodia (by river), Vietnam and Japan will all be launched, and there are outline details in this supplement. You can already book on our tours to India, including our new itinerary to the Essential South, and Indian Summer. Of our tours to the United States, I highlight Frank Lloyd Wright, partly as you can book it now, but mainly because, for me, it is one of the all-time greats.

Our tours and events for 2021 are gradually being added to our website, and will also be printed in our main brochure in July, but if you would like to receive details for individual tours by email or post as soon as they are ready, please let us know. To give you a steer on what we are planning, see the list on pages 27–28.

With best wishes,

Fiona Charrington | Chief Executive January 2020

ATOL 3622 | ABTA Y6050 | AITO 5085

Contents CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR

ASIA | 2021

Vienna at Christmas....................................4

Essential South India.................................14

Prague at Christmas....................................5 Paris at Christmas.......................................6 Provence at Christmas................................7 Milan at Christmas......................................8 Music in Berlin at New Year.......................8 Siena at Christmas.......................................9 Christmas in Western Sicily......................10 Christmas in Holland................................11

MIDDLE-EAST & AFRICA | 2021 Oman, Landscapes & Peoples...................12 2020 additional departures: Morocco; Israel & Palestine....................13 2

Indian Summer..........................................16 Tours in India in 2020..............................17 Cambodia by River ...................................17 Vietnam: History, People, Food................18 Japan 2021: preview.................................19 AMERICAS | 2021 New Orleans to Natchitoches...................20 Frank Lloyd Wright...................................21 USA still to come.......................................22 South America..........................................23 TOURS & EVENTS BY DATE.......... 24–28 BOOKING DETAILS......................... 29–31

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Illustrations. This page: ceiling painting in the Palazzo Barberini, Rome, by Pietro da Cortona, 18th-century engraving (detail). Opposite: Jaipur, watercolour by Mortimer Menpes, publ. 1912. Front cover: 18thcentury engraving (detail) by Piranesi.

About us

Britain’s leading specialist in cultural travel Included in our prices The services of the lecturer and a tour manager – and local guides where appropriate.

Hotel accommodation.

All breakfasts, most dinners and some lunches.

Wine or beer, soft drinks, tea or coffee at lunch and dinner.

Tips for waiters, porters, drivers and local guides.

Martin Randall Travel is committed to providing the best planned, the best led and altogether the most fulfilling and enjoyable cultural tours available. Operating in around 50 countries in Europe, Asia, the Americas and the Middle East, our mission is to deepen your understanding and enhance your appreciation of the achievements of civilisations around the world.

First-rate lecturers. Expert speakers are a key ingredient in our tours and events. They are selected not only for their knowledge, but also for their ability to communicate clearly and engagingly to a lay audience.

Original itineraries, meticulously planned.

Rooted in knowledge of the destination and of the subject matter of the tour, our itineraries are the outcome of assiduous research and reconnaissance. They are original and imaginative, well-paced and carefully balanced.

Special arrangements are a feature of our tours: admission to places not generally open to travellers, access outside public hours, private concerts and extraordinary events.

Travelling in comfort. We select our hotels with great care; most are rated as 4-star or 5-star.

We invest similar efforts in the selection of restaurants, menus and wines. For flights and

trains, we try to choose the most convenient departure times. Rail journeys are usually in first-class seats.

Small groups, congenial company. Unless specified otherwise, our tours run with between 10 and 22 participants. You are highly likely to find yourself in good company, self-selected by common interests and endorsement of the company's ethos.

Travelling solo. We welcome people travelling on their own, for whom our tours are ideal. We also offer tours exclusively for solo travellers.

Care for our clients, suppliers and employees.

We aim for faultless administration from your first encounter with us to the end of the holiday, and beyond. Personal service is a feature. We are a fair, inclusive company and we trust everyone who has dealings with MRT to treat our clients, suppliers and employees with courtesy, empathy and respect.

All admissions to museums, galleries and sites visited on the itinerary.

If it is a music tour, good tickets to all included performances.

Return air or rail travel between London and the destination for tours outside the UK. There are some exceptions – if flights are not included, this is always stated.

Travel by private coach for all included excursions, and airport or railway transfers, if we include flights or trains.

All state and airport taxes.

To see our full range of cultural tours and events, please visit www.martinrandall.com.

Our clients have voted us Best Special Interest Holiday Company at the British Travel Awards for the last five years.

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Vienna at Christmas Art and architecture in the Habsburg capital During the 19th century, when the Empire reached a peak of prosperity and prestige, a splendid range of historicist buildings was added, notably on the Ringstrasse, the grand boulevard which encircles the medieval core.

Around the turn of the century there was an explosion of artistic and intellectual activity which placed Vienna in the forefront of Art Nouveau – here known as Secessionism – and the development of modernism.

Not all is on a grand scale. Tucked behind the imposing palaces and public buildings are narrow alleys and ancient courtyards which survive from the medieval and Renaissance city. In Vienna the magnificent mixes with the unpretentiously charming, imperial display with the Gemütlichkeit of the coffee houses.

The city regularly comes top in the rankings of most liveable city in the world in the Economist Intelligence Unit annual survey.

As with the planning of all our Christmas tours, careful research into seasonal closures and several special arrangements enable us to provide a full programme of visits.

‘ Vienna is a wonderful city for Christmas and this was a truly lovely tour.’

21–27 December 2020 (mg 614) 7 days • £3,240 Lecturer: Dr Jarl Kremeier One of the world’s most beautiful cities – grand boulevards and picturesque alleys, great architecture and outstanding art.

Soaring Gothic and stately Renaissance, lavish Baroque and imposing Historicism, Art Nouveau and early modernism.

CHRISTMAS | Austria

The Kunsthistorisches Museum, one of Europe’s greatest art galleries, is among the many outstanding museum collections.

Excellently located 5-star heritage hotel.

Vienna was once the seat of the Habsburgs, the centre of the Holy Roman Empire and capital of a multinational agglomeration of territories which encompassed much of Central and Eastern Europe. Today it is an imperial city without an empire. It is a relic, but a glorious relic, and one of the world’s foremost centres of art, architecture and music.

The Kunsthistorisches Museum ranks with the best of Europe’s art collections, and the Court Treasury is without peer for its historic regalia and objets d’art. The great Gothic cathedral bears witness to the city’s status in the Middle Ages as the most important city in Danubian Europe; the Church of St Charles and numerous Baroque palaces demonstrate that by the beginning of the 18th century Austria had become one of the great powers.

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Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 12.30pm from London Heathrow to Vienna (British Airways). Drinks and an introductory talk before dinner in the hotel’s own excellent restaurant.

Day 2. Pass the former railway station pavilions

by Wagner and Olbrich and visit the Secession building, built in 1898 as an exhibition hall for avant-garde artists and containing Klimt’s Beethoven Frieze. The Museum of Applied Arts has excellent international and Viennese collections, strikingly displayed. Drive to the outskirts to visit the hospital church ‘Am Steinhof ’ by Otto Wagner, the apogee of Secessionist art and architecture.

Day 3. Visit the Stephansdom, the magnificent Gothic cathedral which is adorned with fine paintings and sculpture. The walk continues through parts of the picturesque old centre and around the Hofburg, the Habsburg winter palace, a vast agglomeration from six centuries of building activity. Within the complex are the Great Hall of the library, one of the greatest of Baroque secular interiors, and the unparalleled collection of precious regalia in the Treasury.

Adjacent is the court church of St Augustine.

Day 4, Christmas Eve. Located beyond the Ringstrasse in the 18th-century suburbs, the votive Church of St Charles (Karlskirche) is the Baroque masterpiece of leading Austrian architect Fischer von Erlach. The palace and garden of Schloss Belvedere, built for Prince Eugene of Savoy on sloping ground overlooking Vienna, constitutes one of the finest residential

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complexes of the 18th century. It now houses the Museum of Austrian Art with art of all eras, including paintings by Klimt and Schiele.

Christmas dinner. There are several musically embellished midnight masses.

Day 5, Christmas Day. The morning is free, though Mass at St Augustine’s is recommended and some museums are open. Spend the afternoon in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, one of the world’s most important art collections.

It is particularly rich in Italian, Flemish and Dutch pictures, but its holdings extend to superb decorative arts and ancient sculpture. We hope to offer an optional musical performance this evening. Programmes are released in the spring.

Day 6. Walk through the Roman and medieval core to see a cross-section of architecture including Gothic and Baroque churches and some of Vienna’s most enchanting streetscapes.

The Jesuit church was spectacularly refurbished c. 1700 by the master of illusionist painting, Andrea Pozzo.

Day 7. Private visit to the magnificent Liechtenstein Palace, which was built c. 1700 by the richest family in the Habsburg Empire. The princely art collection housed here is one of the world’s greatest still in private hands. Time for a leisurely lunch before driving to the airport for the flight to Heathrow, arriving c. 6.30pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,240 or £2,900 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,750 or £3,410 without flights.

Included meals: 2 lunches, 5 dinners, with wine.

Music: details of optional musical performances are published in April.

Accommodation. Hotel Bristol, Vienna (bristolvienna.com).

How strenuous? There is quite a lot of walking and standing around in museums and churches.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Illustration: Vienna, cathedral of St Stephen, etching.

Lecturers See page 23 for biographies.

What else is included?

See page 3 for a list of components that are included as standard in the price.

Prague at Christmas Music, history, art and architecture 21–27 December 2020 (mg 613) 7 days • £3,120 Lecturers: Professor Jan Smaczny & Martina Hinks-Edwards Inaccessible and hidden glories as well as the main sights of this endlessly fascinating city, the most beautiful in Central Europe.

Special arrangements, private visits and museum tours with curators.

Top category tickets to three musical performances (programmes to be confirmed in May 2020).

An excursion to Kutná Hora, a provincial town of great charm with a great cathedral, and to the country house at Kačina.

Centrally located five-star Art Nouveau hotel.

Day 1. Fly from London Heathrow to Prague at c. 10.30am (British Airways). After settling in to the hotel, there is a first exploration of the ancient core of the city on the right bank of the Vltava. A dense maze of picturesque streets and alleys converges on Old Town Square, surely the prettiest urban space in Europe, with shimmeringly beautiful façades – medieval, Renaissance, Baroque and Art Nouveau.

Day 2. Visit the Church of St. James, a Gothic carcass encrusted with Baroque finery. Walk across 14th-century Charles Bridge, the greatest surviving such medieval structure, and in the ‘Lesser Town’ visit the magnificent Baroque church of St Nicholas. The history of the Jewish community is an indelibly fascinating aspect of Prague’s history. In the former ghetto, the Josefov, there remain six synagogues, town hall and cemetery. Concert at the Rudolfinum: The Masterpieces of the European Baroque, Václav Luks (conductor), Collegium 1704.

Day 3. Prague Castle is an extensive hilltop citadel, residence of dukes and kings of Bohemia from the 10th century. The Old Royal Palace rises from Romanesque through Gothic to Renaissance, the chief glory being the Wenceslas Hall with its extraordinary vaulting; the cathedral of St Vitus is a pioneering monument of High Gothic, richly embellished with sculpture, paintwork and glass. Then choose between a visit to the 16th-century Lobkowicz Palace and the National Gallery’s collection of baroque art.

Day 4. In the morning there is a special visit to the glorious suite of assembly rooms created 1904–12 in the Obecní dům (‘Municipal House’), a unique and very Czech mélange of murals and ornament. Hunt down hidden gems in the Old Town, and in the afternoon walk in the ‘New Town’ (1355), in and around Wenceslas Square, threading through a succession of arcades, and viewing outstanding turn-of-the-century architecture and early modernist masterpieces.

halls, which by special arrangement we enter.

Walk down the hill, passing the formidable bulk of the Černín Palace and the delightful façade of the Loreto Church, before driving to the airport for the flight to Heathrow, arriving c. 3.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,120 or £2,950 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,650 or £3,480 without flights.

Included meals: 3 lunches, 2 dinners, with wine.

Music: tickets (top category) to 3 musical performances are included.

CHRISTMAS | Czech republic

The most beautiful city in Central Europe, Prague enjoys an unequalled density of great architecture, from Romanesque to modern, but it is the fabric of the city as a whole as much as the individual masterpieces that makes it so special. The city is splendidly sited on a crescent of hills rising from one side of a majestic bend in the River Vltava and across the gently inclined terrain on the other bank. A carapace of red roofs, green domes and gilded spires rise above marvellously unspoilt streets and alleys and magically picturesque squares.

We view the whole gamut of Czech art and architecture, though the tour gives some emphasis to the period from the 1870s to the 1920s. The spirit of national revival and the achievement of independence (in 1918) inspired a ferment of creativity among artists, writers and composers. A variety of styles drew on earlier Bohemian traditions, Art Nouveau was pushed in innovatory directions and the dawn of modernism is manifest in some beautiful, precocious and unique architecture.

Another high point in Prague’s history was the 14th century, when kings of Bohemia were also Holy Roman Emperors, and the city became one of the largest in the western world. The cathedral rising from within the precincts of the hilltop Royal Castle is one of the many monuments of that golden age.

The pattern of innovation and excellence continued; some of the finest Renaissance and Baroque buildings north of the Alps are located here, and Classicism and Historicism are amply represented.

It’s not all buildings: the beautifully converted Convent of St Agnes displays one of the world’s best collections of medieval panel paintings, there is Mucha stained glass in the cathedral, European Old Masters in Sternberk Palace and the incomparable Art Nouveau decoration in the Municipal House. In the city of Smetana and Dvořák, and where Mozart had his most enthusiastic audiences, there is a range of historic opera houses and concert halls. Three performances will be included.

Itinerary

Day 5, Christmas Day. Free morning with the option of attending a church service. After Christmas lunch, there is a curator-led tour of medieval painting, brilliantly installed in the 13th-century Convent of St Agnes. Opera at the historic 18th-century Estates Theatre: programme to be confirmed.

Accommodation. Hotel Paris, Prague (hotel-paris.cz).

Day 6: Kutná Hora, Kačina. Excursion into the Bohemian countryside. In the Middle Ages, Kutná Hora acquired great wealth from the nearby the silver mines. Now a small provincial town of great charm, it possesses a stunning Gothic cathedral, the creation sequentially of Bohemia’s two finest medieval architects. The lovely Neo-Classical country house at Kačina, set in a landscaped park, has a sequence of fine rooms including a theatre and circular library.

Concert: programme and venue to be confirmed.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Day 7. Strahov Monastery has commanding views over Prague and two magnificent library

Illustration: Prague, Cathedral of St Vitus, watercolour by B. Granville Baker, publ. 1923.

How strenuous? There is quite a lot of walking, much of it on roughly paved streets, some on inclines. The tour would not be suitable for anyone with difficulties with everyday walking and stair-climbing.

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Paris at Christmas Great exhibitions and entertainment in the Ville Lumière

22–27 December 2020 (mg 616) 6 days • £2,810 Lecturer: Patrick Bade New and refurbished galleries – Frank Gehry’s Fondation Louis Vuitton, the Musée Carnavalet and the Pinault Art Centre in the Bourse.

The main art museums (Louvre, Musée d’Orsay) as well as lesser-known attractions.

CHRISTMAS | France

Opera at the Garnier or Bastille and a concert in Sainte Chapelle, one of Europe’s most beautiful consecrated spaces.

The Morozov Collection from Russia is tipped to be the most exciting exhibition of the season.

Centrally-located 4-star hotel which was an intimate retreat for King Edward VII. ‘He who does not visit Paris regularly will never be truly elegant’ wrote Honoré de Balzac in 1830 (Traité de la Vie Élégante). His assertion goes some way to explain the allure of Paris, even at a time of deep social and political turmoil, manifested in the July Revolution of the same year. Paris, whose streets were soon to be drastically re-envisioned by Baron Haussmann into the boulevards so recognisable today, was unquestionably the place to be and be seen. Not unsurprisingly, the dazzle of the Ville Lumière and the lifestyle of its inhabitants has endured, and Parisians remain the ultimate arbiters of good taste.

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Never does Paris appear more elegant than at Christmas, inevitably conjuring up the festive atmosphere of Act II of Puccini’s opera La Bohème. Led by Patrick Bade, art historian, bon viveur and part-time Paris resident, MRT aims to offer just as much fun, together with a rich cultural feast, in considerably more comfort.

What better location than the Hotel Édouard VII, former love nest of Queen Victoria’s son and heir, situated on the splendid Avenue de l’Opéra?

We shall be visiting the Musée Carnavalet, museum of the history and culture of Paris, newly reopened after lengthy refurbishment; the Pinault Art Centre, the city’s newest cultural space; the dream-like Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature in a superb hôtel in the Marais; and the charming Musée de Montmartre.

We take in several of the major exhibitions of the season, including Rodin at the Musée Picasso, Botticelli at the Musée JacquemartAndré and what will undoubtedly be the hottest ticket in town, the Post-Impressionists of the great Russian collector Ivan Morozov at the Fondation Louis Vuitton.

Music in the towering space of the 13thcentury Sainte Chapelle on the Île de la Cité should be an unforgettable experience, as will be a performance in one of the world’s greatest opera houses. Needless to say, we shall be well fed with dinner at the stylish Art Deco Le Vaudeville on Christmas Eve and lunch at the Édouard VII on Christmas Day.

museum in the world. Evening concert in Sainte Chapelle, palatine chapel and apogee of French Gothic architecture, followed by dinner at Le Vaudeville.

Itinerary

Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,810 or £2,620 without Eurostar. Single occupancy: £3,280 or £3,090 without Eurostar.

Day 1. Travel by Eurostar at c. 10.30am from London St Pancras to Paris, and by coach from Gare du Nord to the Montmartre. In the 20th century it was a district favoured by both avant-garde and more traditional artists, as is shown at the Musée Montmartre (exhibition to be announced). Then drive down to the hotel in Avenue de l’Opéra.

‘ Patrick is a gem. Not only vastly knowledgeable about art, but also clearly loves Paris.’

Day 2. By métro to the Marais, a lovely district which is home to several outstanding museums.

The Musée Carnavalet, with myriad collections devoted to the history of Paris, re-opens in 2020 after radical refurbishment, and the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature displays an eclectic collection in a fine ancien régime mansion. You will have tickets for the Picasso-Rodin exhibition at the Musée Picasso, which, housed in the Hôtel Salé, possesses the greatest single collection of the artist’s works.

Day 3. Walk through the Palais Royal to the former stock exchange, which re-opens in 2020 to display the vast Pinault collection of contemporary art. Continue to St Eustache, a Late Gothic church in Les Halles. The afternoon is spent in the Louvre, which for the range and quality of its collections remains the greatest art

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Day 4, Christmas Day. Opulent turn-of-the century home of a banking family, the Musée Jacquemart-André features many Italian Renaissance items among its varied collections, so is an appropriate location for an important Botticelli exhibition. A six-course lunch (and a lethargic afternoon) precedes an evening performance at either the Opéra Bastille or the Palais Garnier (schedules not yet published), with the most typical of French post-prandial refreshments: champagne and macarons.

Day 5. The Musée d’Orsay is home to the world’s finest collection of Impressionism, and also to the contemporaneous academic tradition of painting and sculpture. Then to the Fondation Louis Vuitton in the Bois de Boulogne, Frank Gehry’s most exciting building in Europe, for the Morozov Collection blockbuster from The Hermitage and the Pushkin Museum. Until 1917 the Russian Morozovs bought masterpieces by the best living artists – Cézanne, Gaugin, Van Gogh, Renoir, Monet, Bonnard, Matisse, Picasso.

Day 6. Free morning to pursue your own interests before the Eurostar to St Pancras, where arrival is scheduled for c. 5.30pm.

Practicalities

Included meals: 1 lunch, 3 dinners, with wine.

Performances: tickets to two performances are included, costing c. £175. Tickets will be confirmed in May 2020.

Accommodation. Hotel Édouard VII, Paris (hoteledouard7-paris.com).

How strenuous? One or both performances are reached on foot. Visits require a fair amount of walking and standing; we use the metro. Some late nights but starts are leisurely. You need to be able to lift your luggage on and off the train.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Illustration: Paris, rue du Haut Pavé and Pantheon, watercolour by Yoshino Markino publ. 1908.

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Provence at Christmas The essence of Mediterranean France 21–28 December 2020 (mg 612) 8 days • £3,280 Lecturer: Dr Alexandra Gajewski Stays in two highly attractive city centres and encompasses a range of the best that Provence has to offer in the way of art and architecture.

Fine Roman remains, Rome-inspired medieval architecture, truly great secular buildings including the papal palace at Avignon.

Paintings from medieval to Cézanne and Picasso and outstanding medieval sculpture.

In Avignon a 5-star hotel in a historic building, and 2 nights in Marseille beside the old port.

Day 3: Villeneuve, Orange, Pont-du-Gard.

A day spent mostly within sight of the Rhône, beginning with Pope Innocent VI’s now ruined but still very impressive Charterhouse at Villeneuve-lez-Avignon. The day’s real star is Orange, location of the greatest of all Roman theatres to survive in the West. Also view that astonishing feat of engineering the Pont-duGard that brought water over the River Gardon.

Day 4: Aix-en-Provence. At Aix, another exceedingly pretty and elegant city, the cathedral displays an extraordinary juxtaposition of Merovingian baptistry, Romanesque cloister, 13th-century chancel and late medieval west front. Cézanne’s studio remains as he left it on his death in 1906, and a short drive away are fine views of Mont Sainte-Victoire, the most recognisable motif in modern art.

Day 5, Christmas Day: Avignon. For most of the 14th century the papacy was based in Avignon, in voluntary exile from the factionalism and violence of Rome. The Palais des Papes is the principal monument of this remarkable period, by far the most significant 14th-century building in southern France and the greatest surviving medieval palace complex in Europe. Some free time in Avignon before a lecture and Christmas dinner.

Day 6: St-Rémy-de-Provence, Marseille. Drive along the northern flank of the Alpilles to StRémy-de-Provence, Glanum of old, site of one of the truly great funerary memorials of the Roman world, the cenotaph erected by three Julii brothers. There is a moving visit to the former monastery where Van Gogh was hospitalised; Romanesque cloister, scenes he painted and his own room. Continue to Marseille and visit the Basilique St Victor, which has a fifth-century crypt. First of two nights in Marseille.

Day 7: Marseille. Still one of the busiest ports in the Mediterranean, Marseille is a vibrant place whose historic centre has been much upgraded recently. Walk through the Vieux Port district, seeing remains of the city’s ancient Greek port.

The lively Musée d’Histoire de Marseille offers historic context, while the Musée Cantini has a collection of classic modern art from the first half of the 20th century; Dufy, Ernst, Miró, Picasso, Léger.

Day 8: Marseille. Fly to from Marseilles to London Heathrow, arriving c. 12.30pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,280 or £2,960 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,740 or £3,420 without flights.

Included meals: 5 dinners with wine.

Accommodation. Hôtel d’Europe, Avignon (heurope.com).

How strenuous? Quite a lot of walking is involved, particularly in the town centres.

The tour is not suitable for anyone who has difficulties with everyday walking and stairclimbing. Average distance by coach per day: 39 miles.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Illustration: Avignon, Palais des Papes, drawing by Rene Piot, publ. 1922.

CHRISTMAS | France

Famed for its natural beauty, its wealth of Augustan and second-century monuments, and the quality and ambition of its medieval heritage, Provence can seem the very essence of Mediterranean France. The Roman and medieval settlements were sparsely distributed, and the major historic centres are clustered within the valleys of the Durance and Rhône.

The range and quantity of Roman work, surviving particularly at Orange and St-Rémy, is impressive – and impressed their medieval successors. The pre-eminent Romanesque churches of Provence are notable both for a predilection for sheer wall surfaces and an indebtedness to earlier architectural norms.

But it is above all the sculpture which was susceptible to this sort of historicising impulse.

The Romanesque sculpture of Provence is more skilfully and self-consciously antique than any outside central Italy, and is often organised in a manner designed to evoke ancient sarcophagi or theatres and triumphal arches.

The Italian connection was strengthened when, for much of the 14th century, the papacy came to reside in Avignon, one of the loveliest cities in France. The complete circuit of walls is an impressive survival from this time, as is the Palais des Papes, the finest palace to have survived from the Middle Ages.

Time is spent in Aix, the attractive old capital of Provence and birthplace of Cézanne, and the new capital, Marseille, handsome and vibrant and at times gritty. Oscillating between small provincial town and big city, Marseille was propelled into the 21st century by Norman Foster, Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid all of whom contributed to the civic improvements and architecturally striking new museums for its year as European Capital of Culture in 2013.

painting in the Petit Palais act as a splendid foil to the work at the papal palace, while the cathedral houses the magnificent tomb of Pope John XXII. In the afternoon visit the Musée Calvet, the city’s main museum of fine arts, housed in an 18th-century hôtel particulier.

Itinerary Day 1: Avignon. Fly at c. 2.30pm (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Marseille.

Drive to Avignon, where five nights are spent.

Day 2: Avignon. A day in one of the loveliest cities in France – medieval wall, ancien régime mansions, numerous churches, and riverside vistas. The collections of Gothic sculpture and Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

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Milan at Christmas The art and architecture of Italy’s northern capital in Europe. Artists, musicians and men of letters flocked here to participate in the unending spectacle of court life and compete for unparalleled opportunities to exercise their talents.

Milan was no Renaissance upstart: it had been capital of the western Roman Empire for over a century, in succession to Rome itself, and in the Early Middle Ages remained a major centre of commerce, manufacture and church administration. At first, power coalesced around the archbishop but subsequently shifted towards civic institutions, the merchants and manufacturers, only to be seized in 1277 by a scion of the dominant family, Ottone Visconti – who, as it happens, was the archbishop.

Despite the vicissitudes of early modern history, when Lombardy was under occupation successively by France, Spain and Austria, Milan held its position as Italy’s most economically advanced city. And so it remains, a busy and prosperous capital, fashion and design to the fore, strewn with staggering architecture and world-class artworks. A surprising feature is that there are few tourists.

Itinerary

21–27 December 2020 (mg 615) 7 days • £3,010 Lecturer: Dr Luca Leoncini Outstanding Renaissance architecture and works of art, including Leonardo’s Last Supper and Michelangelo’s Rondanini Pietà.

A highly important group of early medieval and Romanesque churches and the most spectacular Gothic cathedral in Italy.

CHRISTMAS, NEW YEAR | Germany, italy

Major art galleries and other collections in museums and palaces.

Excursions to Bergamo and Vigevano, among the loveliest towns in northern Italy, and to the magnificent Certosa di Pavia.

The Duchy of Milan – approximately coterminous with modern Lombardy – was the wealthiest and most powerful territory in medieval and Renaissance Italy, and its eponymous metropolis was possibly the largest city in Europe. A telling detail is that the greatest genius of his time, Leonardo da Vinci, chose to spend much of his working life in Milan rather than in other Italian cities that are now more commonly associated with artistic and intellectual endeavour.

The ruling dynasties in medieval Lombardy were the Visconti and, after 1450, the Sforza. They produced a string of feared rulers in Italy – but also created around them the most glittering court in the peninsula, the rival of any 8

Day 1. Fly at c. 10.30am from London Heathrow to Milan Linate (British Airways). After settling into the hotel, walk to the Poldi Pezzoli Museum, which houses a wonderful collection of decorative and fine arts in a 17th-century palace.

Day 2: Milan. Start the day at Sant’Eustorgio, an important Early Christian church rebuilt several times during the Middle Ages and further embellished in the Renaissance. The Castello Sforzesco is a vast fortified palace, now with museums containing a variety of exhibits including room decorations by Leonardo and Michelangelo’s Rondanini Pietà. Finally, the Brera, one of Italy’s finest art galleries, where most of the great Italian artists are represented.

Day 3: Certosa di Pavia, Milan. Drive out to the Certosa di Pavia, a Carthusian monastery which was generously endowed by both the Visconti and the Sforza families as their mausoleum.

Gothic meets Renaissance in a church of exceptional decorative richness and a cloister of rare beauty. Back in Milan, see frescoes by leading Lombard painters of the 16th century at San Maurizio and the small but remarkable art collection in the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana.

Day 4: Vigevano. A very attractive little town, Vigevano has at its heart one of the largest castles in Italy, a major Sforza palace, a beautiful arcaded square and several churches of interest. Return to Milan to see the church of Sant’Ambrogio, one of northern Italy’s most important survivals from the Early Middle Ages, the fabric largely of the 4th–13th centuries. It contains precious metalwork and mosaics.

Day 5, Christmas Day: Milan. Free morning, with the option of attending a church service.

After lunch, there is a walk which includes the spectacular marble cathedral, the greatest Gothic

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building in Italy, and the nearby headquarters of the powers whose rivalry ensured a continuously lively (and sometimes deadly) political scene: bishop, duke and commune. Also see San Satiro, a jewel of the early Renaissance.

Day 6: Bergamo. The Upper Town of Bergamo is among the most attractive old city centres in Italy. The Romanesque Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore forms part of the superb architectural complex of the Piazza del Duomo.

The adjacent Cappella Colleoni has frescoes

by Tiepolo. Descending to the Lower Town, see the outstanding collection of paintings in the Accademia Carrara, and a church with an altarpiece by one-time resident Lorenzo Lotto.

Day 7: Milan. The graceful Renaissance church of Santa Maria delle Grazie alone justifies a visit, though it is the refectory that gives the monastery fame: it is adorned with the world’s most famous wall painting, Leonardo’s Last Supper. Fly in the afternoon from Milan Linate, arriving London Heathrow at c. 5.30pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,010 or £2,880 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,510 or £3,380 without flights.

Included meals: 1 lunch (Christmas Day) and 4 dinners with wine.

Accommodation. Rosa Grand Hotel, Milan (starhotels.com).

How strenuous? There is quite a lot of walking on this tour and it is not suitable for anyone who has difficulties with everyday walking and stair climbing. Visits require a fair amount of standing around. Average distance by coach per day: 27 miles.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Music in Berlin at New Year 27 December 2020–2 January 2021 Full details available in April 2020 Please call us to register your interest or e-mail alerts@martinrandall.co.uk Performances usually at the Deutsche Oper, Staatsoper Unter den Linden and the Philharmonie.

Numerous excellent collections of fine and decorative arts and first-rate architecture.

Includes full day excursions to Charlottenburg and Potsdam.

Elegant 5-star hotel close to Unter den Linden.

Siena at Christmas Art and architecture in Southern Tuscany 21–27 December 2020 (mg 610) 7 days • £3,040 Lecturer: Dr Michael Douglas-Scott The splendid architecture, enchanting streetscape and wonderful works of art of Tuscany’s finest historic cities.

Stay throughout in a five-star hotel in central Siena, finest of Italy’s hilltop towns.

Day trips through beautiful countryside to Arezzo, Pienza and San Gimignano.

Major medieval and Early Renaissance frescoes and panel paintings, as well as other arts.

Itinerary Day 1: San Miniato, Siena. Fly c. 8.30am from London Heathrow to Pisa. Drive to San Miniato, whose strategic location straddling the Via Francigena and the route between Pisa and Florence made it one of the most important imperial centres in Tuscany in the 12th and 13th centuries. Continue to Siena.

Day 2: Siena. Our exploration of this hilltop city begins with the cathedral museum to see Duccio’s Maestà, the greatest of all medieval altarpieces. The 14th-century Palazzo Pubblico, a fortress of delicate design, contains frescoes

by Simone Martini and the Lorenzetti brothers.

Finally, the cathedral, an imposing Romanesque and Gothic construction of white and green marble with outstanding Renaissance sculpture and painting including Pinturicchio’s brilliant frescoes and the font by Ghiberti, Donatello and Jacopo della Quercia.

Ghibellines. The greatest artwork here – and one of the greatest cultural achievements in all Italy – is Piero della Francesca’s great fresco cycle The Legend of the True Cross, painted for the Franciscan order and executed over a 20-year period. See also the cathedral and the Romanesque church of Santa Maria.

Day 3: Pienza, Siena. Created by Pope Pius II as a tribute to his birthplace, the central square of Pienza is a jewel of Renaissance architecture and planning. The Museo Diocesano, in a palace gifted to future Pope Alexander VI by Pius II, contains superb examples of tapestries, goldwork and illuminated manuscripts. Back in Siena, the Pinacoteca Nazionale contains some of the greatest Sienese creations from Gothic to Mannerist.

Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,040 or £2,700 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,570 or £3,230 without flights.

Day 4: San Gimignano. San Gimignano is the most extraordinary of Italian hill towns.

Scarcely changed for 600 years, it retains its medieval walls and fourteen 13th-century, hundred-foot tower houses. It also contains great frescoes, including Old and New Testament cycles in the Romanesque cathedral by the Sienese masters Bartolo di Fredi and Lippo Memmi, and the story of St Augustine by the Florentine painter Benozzo Gozzoli in a friary church.

Practicalities

Included meals: 2 lunches, 3 dinners, with wine.

Accommodation. Grand Hotel Continental, Siena (starhotelscollezione.com).

How strenuous? There is a lot of walking on this tour, some of it on uneven ground and much of it uphill. Coaches are not allowed inside the walls of any of the towns visited. Fitness is essential. Some days involve a lot of driving.

Average distance by coach per day: 93 miles.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Illustrations. Opposite: Milan, cathedral and tower of S. Gottardo, watercolour by C. T. G. Formilli, publ. 1925.

Above: San Gimignano, after a drawing in 'Some Tuscan Cities',1924.

Day 5, Christmas Day. Free morning. There is, of course, the option of attending a church service, and of independently sauntering the streets and alleys and squares and imbuing the beauty of this incomparable little city. After Christmas lunch in the hotel restaurant, there is a walk encompassing a selection of Siena’s great piazze, fountains and buildings.

Day 6: Arezzo. One of the main Etruscan city-states, Arezzo subsequently became a Roman city of strategic importance and then a free commune in the Middle Ages allied to the

Day 7. Drive to Pisa for the flight to London Heathrow, arriving c. 2.00pm.

Lecturers See page 23 for biographies.

What else is included?

See page 3 for a list of components that are included as standard in the price.

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9

CHRISTMAS | Italy

Spilling across three converging hilltops, Siena contains the most extensive and beautifully preserved medieval townscape in Europe.

The Queen of Tuscany reached the apogee of her power, wealth and creativity in the High Middle Ages when she was an independent republic, and her great public buildings were constructed during this period, the splendid town hall and extraordinarily ambitious cathedral built to rival Florence.

There is plenty of excellent Renaissance art here, but it is medieval painting for which the city is best known. The Sienese school reached its pinnacle of refinement before the Black Death in 1348, though great works continued to be produced for the next century and a half. A host of brilliant artists led by Duccio, Simone Martini and the Lorenzetti brothers created a distinctive style of exquisite delicacy – of design, detail and colour – and images which are numinous yet naturalistic.

Long before Siena lost its political independence to Florence in 1555, Florentine and other Tuscan artists had made their impact here, including Giovanni Pisano at the cathedral and Donatello in his bronze sculptures for the baptistery. But Sienese art long preserved its distinctive character and had an enduring influence on cities in the rest of central Italy.

The tour ranges through beautiful landscapes to present many of the finest works of art in southern Tuscany to other little historic cities. Pienza: the first ideal town of the Renaissance, quattrocento façades and gilt Sienese altarpieces in the cathedral. San Gimignano: hilltop town with a unique cluster of medieval towers and equally spectacular 14thand 15th-century frescoes. Arezzo: location of the Legend of the True Cross by Piero della Francesca, most beguiling and enigmatic of Early Renaissance painters.

Christmas in Western Sicily Art, archaeology and architecture in Palermo and its vicinity extensively employed, and more wall and vault mosaics survive here than in all of Byzantium.

The tour visits not only the Norman buildings in Palermo but also the cathedrals at Cefalù and Monreale.

Further excursions outside the city reveal another major theme of the tour: the extraordinary heritage of Hellenic civilisation.

The Greeks first came to Sicily in the eighth century bc and the island became for a while the most prosperous part of the Ancient World.

Numerous well-preserved Doric temples constitute their greatest monument.

Lurching forward in time, a final artistic flourish was reached in the Age of Baroque with the construction of churches and palaces which are as exuberant as anywhere in Europe.

Always a seething, vibrant city, in recent years enlightened local government has made Palermo cleaner, safer and altogether more enjoyable than even a few years ago. The tour includes a number of special arrangements to gain access to private palaces or to visit buildings outside opening hours.

21–28 December 2020 (mg 611) 8 days • £3,190 Lecturer: Rowena Loverance Seven nights in Palermo, one of the most fascinating cities in Italy, richly stocked with a variety of outstanding art and architecture.

Excursions to the most interesting places in the vicinity: Cefalù, Monreale, Segesta, Agrigento.

Unique heritage of Norman-ByzantineSaracenic buildings and mosaics.

Several ancient Greek temples survive in countryside locations; exceptionally lavish Baroque interiors are another striking feature.

Includes access to private palaces and to places outside public opening hours.

CHRISTMAS | Italy

Palermo’s status as the largest city on Sicily, and the one with by far the richest heritage of material culture, has its origins in the ninthcentury ad invasion by Muslims from North Africa and the termination of Byzantine rule.

Palermo soon gained fame for the beauty of its hillside position, the quality of its craftsmanship and its enlightened administration.

But in the eleventh century, Arab rule – but not all their culture – was swept aside by conquering Normans. By succumbing to the luxuriant sophistication of their predecessors they distanced themselves as far as is imaginable from their rugged northern roots. From a Palermo-based cosmopolitan court they ruled an affluent and cultured nation with efficiency and tolerance.

The unique artistic blend of this golden age survives in the Romanesque churches with details of Norman, Saracenic, Levantine and Classical origin. Byzantine mosaicists were 10

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 9.00am (Alitalia) from London City to Palermo, via Milan. First night in Palermo, where all seven nights are spent.

Day 2: Palermo. A morning walk includes two oratories with lavish interiors by the Rococo sculptor Giacomo Serpotta. There follows the Galleria Regionale in the 15th-century Palazzo Abatellis, the most important art gallery on the island. Two adjacent Norman churches, La Martorana and San Cataldo, reveal the extraordinary melting pot of cultures in 12thcentury Sicily, with Arabic and Byzantine features as well as Italian and North European.

For dinner we are guests at a private palazzo.

Day 3: Cefalù. Cefalù is charming small coastal town dominated by a massive Norman cathedral on the slopes behind, which contains outstanding mosaics. The art gallery of the Museo Mandralisca has a painting by the enigmatic 15th-century Antonello da Messina.

In the evening there is a private out-of-hours visit to the twelfth-century chapel in the Palace of the Normans. The interior is entirely encrusted with mosaics, the finest assembly of Byzantine art to survive anywhere.

Day 4: Agrigento. Full-day excursion to the ‘Valley of the Temples’ at Agrigento.

The remains of the Greek colony of Akragas constitute one of the greatest sites bequeathed by the ancient world. Founded in 580 bc, it rose rapidly to riches and was endowed with eight temples, the most numerous group in the Greek world. The one dedicated to Zeus was the largest of all Doric temples until reduced by Carthaginians and earthquakes; the Temple ‘of Concord’ is the best preserved.

Day 5, Christmas Day: Segesta, Mondello. The morning is spent in Segesta; set in an unspoilt landscape, this is one of the most evocative of

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ancient Greek sites. The almost complete but fascinatingly unfinished fifth-century temple was built by indigenous if thoroughly Hellenised Sicilians, and a theatre is sited on an adjacent hill with views out to sea. Adjourn to Mondello, a seaside town to the northwest of Palermo, for a special lunch in a Michelin-starred restaurant (subject to confirmation).

Day 6: Palermo. Return to the Palazzo dei Normanni, of ninth-century Arab origin but extended in nearly every subsequent century, the secular mosaics (c. 1170) in the Hall of King Roger being the highlight. Also visited today are San Giovanni degli Eremiti, a church with five cupolas and a garden, the largely medieval cathedral with its royal and imperial tombs, and the Chiesa del Gesù, an outstanding example of Palermitan Baroque with a profusion of marble inlay, stucco and sculpture.

Day 7: Monreale. Drive out to Monreale, a small town which dominates a verdant valley southwest of Palermo. Its cathedral is one of the finest Norman churches on the island and possesses the largest scheme of mosaic decoration to survive from the Middle Ages.

Back in Palermo, visit one of the richest collections of Punic and Ancient Greek art in Italy in the Archaeological Museum. Evening reception in a private palazzo, with astonishing Rococo interiors and original furnishings (used as a set in Visconti’s film of The Leopard).

Day 8: Palermo. Some free time in the morning before flying from Palermo to London City, via Milan, arriving c. 7.30pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,190 or £2,950 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,680 or £3,440 without flights.

Included meals: 2 lunches, 4 dinners, with wine.

Accommodation. Grand Hotel Piazza Borsa, Palermo (piazzaborsa.it).

How strenuous? The tour involves a lot of walking in town centres, where coach access is restricted, and a lot of standing in museums and churches. Uneven ground and irregular paving are standard. A good level of fitness is necessary. It should not be attempted by anyone who has difficulty with everyday walking and stair-climbing. Average distance by coach per day: 48 miles.

Indirect flights. We opt to travel to and from Sicily with Alitalia because the only direct flights to Palermo in this period are with low-cost airlines, with whom it is not currently viable for us to make a group booking. You may wish to choose our ‘no flights’ option and to book your own flights. Please contact us for advice or further information about this.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Illustration: The Cathedral at Cefalu, painted by Alberto Pisa publ. 1911.

Christmas in Holland Art and architecture of the Golden Age 21–27 December 2020 (mg 617) 7 days • £3,030 Lecturer: Dr Sophie Oosterwijk Focus on painting of the Golden Age – Hals, Rembrandt, Vermeer and their contemporaries – displayed in newly refurbished art museums.

Also other artists, Van Gogh and Mondriaan particularly, and other arts seen and explained.

Unique streetscape – canals for thoroughfares, gabled brick mansions, ambitious town halls, Gothic churches, abundant trees.

Based throughout in a 5-star hotel in the lovely old city of Utrecht, with visits to Amsterdam, The Hague, Haarlem and Leiden.

Christmas Day concert at the Concertgebouw.

International travel by train from London.

Day 4, Christmas Eve: The Hague. Though the seat of government, Den Haag was a relative backwater until only a few generations ago. A walk through some of the attractive old centre leads to the Mauritshuis, a princely lakeside residence with a smallish but superb collection of Golden Age paintings, second only to the Rijksmuseum for density of masterpieces. The Kunstmuseum Den Haag (Gemeentemuseum) shows art from the later 19th century onwards including a large holding of Mondriaan.

Day 5, Christmas Day: Amsterdam. Back to Amsterdam for the Van Gogh Museum, the world’s largest holding of the artist’s works with over 200 paintings, many from brother Theo’s collection. (An alternative – the neighbouring Stedelijk Museum of modern art.)

Lunch, then afternoon orchestral music at the Concertgebouw, the world-famous concert hall.

Day 6: Leiden, Haarlem. Rembrandt’s birthplace, Leiden is one of the loveliest cities in Holland. The art gallery in the cloth merchants’ hall has recently emerged from major extension; early works by Rembrandt and fellow pupil Jan Lievens. Haarlem was the chief artistic centre in the northern Netherlands in the 16th century

and home to the first of the great masters of the Golden Age, Frans Hals, whose finest works are in the museum.

Day 7: Dordrecht. Dordrecht is host to a 400th anniversary exhibition of paintings by Aelbert Cuyp and English painters he influenced – Gainsborough, Constable, Turner. From there a short ride to Rotterdam for the train via Brussels to London St Pancras, arriving c. 7.15pm.

(Currently a change in Brussels is necessary for passport control but this may no longer apply by winter 2020.)

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,030 or £2,810 without Eurostar. Single occupancy: £3,420 or £3,200 without Eurostar.

Included meals: 1 lunch, 5 dinners, with wine.

Accommodation. The Grand Hotel Karel V, Utrecht (karelv.nl).

How strenuous? There is quite a lot of walking, and standing in museums, and the tour would not be suitable for anyone with difficulties with everyday walking. Average distance by coach per day: 57 miles.

Group size: between 10 and 20 participants.

Illustration: Amsterdam, the fish market, copper engraving c. 1760.

CHRISTMAS | The Netherlands

The 17th century was the Golden Age in the history and the art of the provinces of Holland and Utrecht. This was the time of Frans Hals, Rembrandt, Vermeer and innumerable other great masters. The Dutch School is of universal appeal, with its mix of realism, painterliness and potency, and is best appreciated in the excellent art galleries of their native country.

The visual context is equally beguiling – wonderfully preserved and picturesque towns and cities built up around canals and cobbled alleys, gabled merchants’ mansions propping each other up as they settle lopsidedly into the waterlogged earth. In so many vistas little has changed for over 300 years.

Vincent Van Gogh is a presence on the tour, with the largest holdings of his works in his native Netherlands. From the 20th century, the great Dutch painter Piet Mondriaan also features.

The base for the tour is a five-star hotel which is installed in a group of 19th-century buildings around courtyards. Utrecht is an ideal base – a well-preserved historic centre, pretty and quiet, whose location means relatively short journeys to all places visited.

Day 3: Amsterdam. Drive to Amsterdam to visit to the brilliantly refurbished Rijksmuseum, principal gallery of the Netherlands. A tour concentrates on the paintings of Hals, Rembrandt and Vermeer, though other artists – Ruisdael, Van Goyen, de Hooch – are also studied. Some free time here; there is much else to see. Then a walk beside some of the finest canals to the Museum Van Loon, a mansion furnished as 300 years ago.

Itinerary Day 1: Utrecht. Depart at c. 11.00am from London St Pancras by Eurostar (Standard Premier seats) for Rotterdam (no change of train required). Drive to Utrecht in time for a lecture before dinner. All six nights are spent here.

Day 2: Utrecht. Utrecht is one of the best-preserved of the historic cities in the Netherlands, with canals for thoroughfares and unbroken stretches of Golden Age houses – red brick, stone dressings, fancy gables. St Martin’s Cathedral is the most French of the country’s Gothic churches while the art museum shows paintings of the Utrecht School which are distinctive for the dominance of Italian influence. The Catherijneconvent is a fascinating museum of Christian art of all ages.

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11

Oman, Landscapes & Peoples Desert, coast and mountains

9–19 January 2021 (mg 620) 11 days/10 nights • £5,910 Lecturer: Dr Peter Webb Remarkable landscape, hill forts, traditional souqs, archaeological sites.

The toehold of Arabia, with a diverse population reflecting its mercantile past.

A night in a desert camp and two nights in a luxury hotel in the mountains of the Jabal Akhdar.

MIDDLE EAST | Oman

Wilfred Thesiger was motivated to cross the Empty Quarter by the hope that he would find peace and solitude in the remote desert landscapes. He also yearned to gain the friendship of the Bedu who journeyed with him and whom he encountered during his traverse.

The opportunities for travelling to little-visited locations, relaxing in inspiring surroundings and encountering new peoples is no less possible in Oman in 2021 than it was in 1946.

The country provides a diverse range of extraordinary natural beauty: deserts, mountains, wadis, beaches. Visitors also experience the kindness and friendliness of the Omanis. With relatively low – although gradually increasing – numbers of visitors, Oman is still not over-developed, unlike some of its neighbouring Gulf states.

Evidence of settlement dates back to the fourth millennium bc with early indications of dependence on trade. First copper and then ‘sacred frankincense’ (southern Oman is one of the few places in the world where it still grows) 12

played a key role in the country’s history. Desire to control the supply of frankincense led to incorporation in the Achaemenid and Sassanian empires until the Persians were forced out in the seventh century.

Omanis readily embraced Islam and submitted to the Umayyad and the Abbasid Caliphate. Trade and naval power continued to expand. Occupied by the Portuguese from 1507 to 1650, Oman flourished again after their departure with an empire reaching into East Africa, particularly Zanzibar, and the Indian Ocean. Treaties agreed with the British to protect communications with India marked the beginning of a special relationship which continued beyond the formal termination of the protectorate in 1971.

Meanwhile, the division of the Omani empire between the sultan of Zanzibar and the sultan of Muscat in 1856 resulted in economic decline for both and internal conflicts in the latter.

Successive sultans failed to tackle the problems and Oman stagnated.

The coming to power of Sultan Qaboos bin Said in 1970 heralded a new era. Though its oil revenues are relatively small, they have been used wisely to the benefit of the Omani people, for infrastructure, employment and education. Development has been rapid but controlled, guided by a determination to preserve Omani traditions.

Our comprehensive itinerary includes the highlights of this vast country: from the inland forts of Nizwa and Jabrin to the little-visited archaeological sites of Al-Balid and Khor Rori, from the mountain scenery in the Western Hajar to the remoteness of the Wahiba Sands, from

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the bustling capital Muscat to the contrasting landscapes of the southern region of Dhofar.

Other features of this tour are the opportunity to camp overnight in the Wahiba Sands, bathe in the Indian Ocean, stay high in the mountains of the Jabal Akhdar and shop in souqs suffused with the scent of frankincense.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 8.00pm from London Heathrow (Oman Air) for the seven-hour overnight flight to Muscat.

Day 2: Muscat. Land at c. 7.15am. Hotel rooms are at your disposal for the morning. Greater Muscat is spread out along the coast with a dramatic mountain backdrop. Afternoon visit to the recently opened Omani National Museum, the Sultanate’s flagship cultural institution. First of two nights in Muscat.

Day 3: Barka, Nakhl. By 4-wheel-drive to the traditionally furnished 17th-century fortified house Bait Na’aman. Continue onto the impressive Rustaq Fort, an early 18th century construction, built to defend the former Omani capital. Overnight Muscat.

Day 4: Muscat, Jabrin. With seven minarets, the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque is impressively ornate. Leave Muscat by 4-wheel- drive. The most impressive fort in Oman is at Jabrin; sensitively restored, the plasterwork, wood carvings and painted ceilings are magnificent.

Ascend the Al Hajar mountains for the first of two nights in the Jabal Akhdar.

Day 5: Nizwa area. Visit to the 17th-century Nizwa Fort, palace, seat of government and

prison. Some time to explore the fascinating souqs and markets. The rarely-visited archaeological site of Al Ayn is a collection of Bronze Age beehive tombs sitting atop a rugged ridge with the Jebel Misht as a backdrop.

Overnight Jabal Akhdar.

Practicalities

Day 6: Nizwa area. Spend the morning in Al Hamra, a traditional Omani town at the foot of the Hajar mountain range; the original irrigation system (falaj) remains in use. A free afternoon to enjoy the mountain scenery from the hotel.

Overnight Jabal Akhdar.

Included: flights (economy class) with Oman Air (aircraft: A330-300 & Boeing 737); travel by private air-conditioned coach or 4-wheel-drive vehicles; hotel accommodation; breakfasts, 8 lunches (3 picnics) and 8 dinners with a glass of wine or two, water and coffee (not all restaurants serve alcohol and none is served at picnics); all admissions; all tips; all taxes; the services of the lecturer, tour manager and local guides.

Day 7: Nizwa, Wahiba. Set off early for Ibra, the once opulent market town that stood on the trade route linking the interior to the coast.

Arrive at Wahiba Sands, a sea of high rolling dunes. Watch the sunset and camp overnight in the desert.

Day 8: Wahiba, Salalah. 4-wheel-drive to Muscat to catch an afternoon flight to Salalah, which despite its size is considered Oman’s second city and capital of the Dhofar region.

First of three nights in Salalah.

Day 9: Al Balid. Ancient Zafar flourished in the 11th and 12th centuries and was visited by Marco Polo. The museum exhibits finds from the ruins of Al Balid and other artefacts from the area. Some free time before dinner to relax by the Indian Ocean. Overnight Salalah.

Day 10: Khor Rori. Spend the morning at Mirbat, scene of the well-documented battle in 1972, which saw Pakistani and Omani British soldiers defend the town during the Dhofar Rebellion. The impressive archaeological site at Khor Rori, formerly known as Sumhuraman, preserves the remains of an important frankincense trading port from where, 2000 years ago, this precious commodity commenced its transportation to Damascus and Rome.

Overnight Salalah.

Price, per person. Two sharing: £5,910 or £5,300 without flights on days 1 and 11.

Single occupancy: £6,970 or £6,360 without flights on days 1 and 11.

Internal flights: the flight from Muscat to Salalah on day 8 is included in the price if you take our ‘no flights’ option. However, please note that the tour ends in Salalah and therefore the internal flight from Salalah to Muscat on day 11 is not included.

Visas. British citizens and most foreign nationals require a tourist visa. You apply individually for an E-visa through the Royal Oman Police portal (ww.rop.gov.om/english), which costs 20,000 OMR (c. £40). This is not included in the price of the tour because you have to procure it yourself.

Visa applications can only begin three months before the tour ends. Passports must be valid for at least 6 months after your return from the tour.

‘ I would encourage people to go to Oman now... not too many tourists and it is changing rapidly. Our itinerary showed the traditional and the modernisation in progress. I’m glad I went when I did!’

Accommodation. Grand Hyatt, Muscat (hyatt. com/en-US/hotel/oman/grand-hyatt-muscat/ musca). Anantara, Jabal Akhdar (jabal-akhdar. anantara.com). Desert Nights Camp, Wahiba Sands (desertnightscamp.com). Hotel Crowne Plaza, Salalah (crowneplaza.com).

How strenuous? This is a busy and active tour and participants need stamina and fitness.

There are some long journeys by 4x4 vehicles or coach (average distance per day: 102 miles), at least one internal flight and 3 changes of accommodation. Walking is often on uneven terrain at archaeological sites, hill forts and in the desert.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Illustration: etching 1927 by E. J. Detmold.

ADDITIONAL DEPARTURES | AUTUMN 2020

Day 11. A mid-morning flight to Muscat connects with the early afternoon flight to London, arriving Heathrow c. 6.30pm.

MIDDLE EAST | Oman & more

For those not taking the group flights, the tour ends in Salalah.

Morocco

Israel & Palestine

3–14 October 2020 (mg 452) 11 nights • £4,580 Lecturer: James Brown

20–29 October 2020 (mg 500) 10 days • £5,540 Lecturer: Dr Matthew J. Adams

Lecturers See page 23 for biographies.

Please visit www.martinrandall.com for full details or contact us.

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Essential South India Temples, Empires and Spices in Tamil Nadu and Kerala 28 January–10 February 2021 (mh 630) 14 days • £6,190 International flights not included Lecturer: Asoka Pugal Fascinating Hindu art, architecture and rituals in the finest temples of Tamil Nadu.

Colonial history in Chennai, Pondicherry and Kochi.

Silk and coir weaving, bronze moulding, tea picking and spice growing.

Lush tropical landscapes, rice paddies, sugar cane, coconut groves, colourful villages.

Ocean, rivers, mountains; the geographical features of the Indian Subcontinent have always played a major role in its long history.

While the riverine plains of northern India have allowed migrations and invasions, the southernmost tip of the Indian peninsula has remained protected from the north by a series of mountain ranges and rivers, uncrossable for centuries. Surrounding the peninsula on all other sides, the Indian Ocean brings a distinctive climate, tropical and humid, with its predictable monsoon rains making the land highly productive; rice paddy fields, coconut groves and spice plantations abound and have sustained the emergence and growth of many Hindu kingdoms and empires for the past

ASIA | India

millennia. The monsoon winds have brought settlers and traders from East Africa and Europe to both coasts since antiquity; early Christians and Jews landed on the Malabar Coast in 52 ad while the Portuguese, Dutch, French and English all traded from their respective forts and trading posts, following the sea route supposedly discovered by Vasco de Gama in 1498.

This tour starts in the modern state of Tamil Nadu, cradle of the Dravidian civilisation. The seventh-century Pallava kings, in their seaport of Mahabalipuram, created rock-cut caves and monolithic shrines, where mythological moments are presented in dynamic relief carvings. Their architectural style and elements were formative in the development of the Dravidian style of temple architecture, which fully matured under the Chola Dynasty in the 11th and 12th centuries. Their monumental, yet finely carved temples are masterpieces of craftsmanship. The colourful gopurams, towering gateways, and the profusely sculpted mandapas, pillared halls such as that of the Meenakshi temple in Madurai are typical of the 17thcentury Nayaka rulers.

The first major British settlement in India, Fort St George in Madras, was built by the East India Company in 1640. In 1674, the French Compagnie des Indes Orientales established their headquarters in Pondicherry, 90 miles down the coast. Contact with Europeans was beneficial to many local communities. The Chettiars of Chettinadu, local money-lenders, made their fortune by importing teak wood from Burma. Today, their sleepy palaces, with British iron pillars and Belgian crystal chandeliers are silent witnesses of the past.

In Kerala, spices always attracted traders; pepper, cardamom, ginger, clove, and later tea and coffee, all grow in the highlands of the Western Ghats. A labyrinthine network of canals known as the backwaters have always provided easy transport by kettuvallam, a traditional boat made of bamboo and coconut coir, to Cochin, the world trading centre for spices since Roman times, today a masala of religious communities.

Itinerary Day 1: Chennai, Mahabalipuram. The tour begins with lunch and a talk at the hotel on the peaceful, coastal outskirts of Chennai. Rooms are available from 2.00pm on 27th January allowing for early check-in. Visit Mahabalipuram’s seventh-century cave temples including the extraordinarily energetic Mahishasuramardini (Durga slaying the buffalo demon) and the great Arjuna’s penance relief (Descent of the Ganges).

First of three nights near Chennai.

Day 2: Mahabalipuram. The elegant Shore Temple combines shrines to Shiva and Vishnu.

The so-called five rathas (chariots), seventhcentury monolithic shrines, are a veritable catalogue of the architectural possibilities inherent in the Dravida tradition at this early stage, which clearly evolved out of the early wooden architectural tradition.

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Day 3: Chennai. Drive to Chennai’s city centre to visit the excellent bronze collection of the Government Museum. A drive along the coast reveals a range of architectural styles; visit Fort St George and St Mary’s, India’s oldest surviving British church dating to 1680.

Day 4: Pondicherry. Drive south to Pondicherry, a former French enclave acquired in 1674 which retains much of its colonial architecture. Two respective walks in the French Quarter and the Tamil Quarter highlights the dual cultural heritage of this pleasant seaside town. Overnight Pondicherry.

Day 5: Kumbakonam, Thanjavur.

Continue south, stopping en route at Gangaikondacholapuram, the ‘City of the Chola who conquered the Ganges’: the Brihadishvara is a gigantic, imperial Chola temple erected

by Rajendra I (1012–44). Kumbakonam is a thriving town with numerous temples from the Chola period and later, including the Nageshvara which has some of the finest early Chola sculpture. The Mahamakam tank (17thcentury) is said to unite the waters of all India’s sacred rivers. At Darasuram, the Airavateshvara temple is a late Chola masterpiece (1146–72), beguilingly sensuous and architecturally lucid.

First of two nights in Thanjavur.

Day 6: Thanjavur. The colossal Brihadishvara temple of Thanjavur was built by Rajaraja I in c. 1010. The compound is entered via the earliest of the truly monumental gopurams and also contains a variety of subsidiary shrines, including the finely chiselled Subrahmanya (17th-century). The museum in the Thanjavur palace houses a fine collection of Chola sculpture, including bronzes. There is an optional visit to a local workshop to observe bronze making and glass painting.

Day 8: Kanadukathan. A free morning to relax at the hotel or stroll around the village.

Afternoon excursion to two small, rural temples; the Vijayalaya-Cholishvara set on a hilltop at Narthamalai and the Arivar Koil cave temple (eighth-century) containing vibrant mural paintings evoking the abundance of nature.

Day 9: Madurai. Drive in the morning to Madurai, where the vast Meenakshi Temple complex, mostly erected in the 17th century under the Nayaka rulers when the city was an independent kingdom, is the epitome of a South Indian ‘temple-city’. Its towering gateways, swathed in coloured figures, rise up to 60m.

The grand pillared Celestial Pavilion is all that remains of the Thirumalai Nayaka Palace.

Overnight in Madurai.

Day 11: Peermade. Morning excursion to a tea plantation in the hills of the Peermade region.

Take a jeep tour of the extensive grounds (where coffee and cardamom are also grown), witness the process of orthodox tea-making in the factory and taste the final product. Lunch on the estate is followed by some time to enjoy the verdant surroundings of the hotel.

Day 12: Keralan backwaters. Drive in the morning to Kerala’s backwaters. An afternoon cruise with lunch on a houseboat explores this network of lakes, lagoons and canals with its unique ecosystem. The boats are modelled on the kettuvallams once used to carry rice and spices to Kochi. Continue to Kochi for the first of two nights.

Day 13: Kochi. A morning walk around Fort Cochin includes the Chinese fishing nets, which have been in use since the 14th century and St Francis Church (c. 1510), the temporary resting place of Vasco da Gama. Mattancherry Palace was first built by the Portuguese in 1557 and rebuilt by the Dutch in 1663. The murals in the king’s bedroom which depict mythical scenes from the Raas Leela and the Ramayana are a masterpiece of Keralan painting. Jewish merchants and Christian settlers arrived in Kerala with St Thomas the Apostle in 52 ad.

The Paradesi Synagogue, built in 1568 by European Jews, is tucked away in the heart of the Jewish Quarter. Its airy interior is enhanced by hand painted Chinese floor tiles and European glass chandeliers.

Day 14. Transfers to Kochi Airport are arranged for your onward journey.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £6,190.

Single occupancy: £7,420. International flights are not included.

Included: arrival and departure airport car transfers; travel by private coach; hotel accommodation as described below; breakfasts; 10 lunches and 10 dinners with beer, water, soft drinks and coffee at lunch plus wine at dinner; all admissions; all tips; all taxes; the services of the lecturer, tour manager and local guides.

Flights from London to Chennai and Kochi to London are not included in the price of the tour. We will send the recommended flight options when they are available to book in March 2020, and ask that you make your own flight reservation. The cost of an Economy seat with Emirates (via Dubai) at the time of going to press is c. £500.

Visas: required for most foreign nationals and not included in the tour price. We will advise on the procedure.

Accommodation. Taj Fisherman’s Cove, Chennai (tajhotels.com). Palais de Mahé, Pondicherry (cghearth.com). Svatma Hotel, Thanjavur (svatma.in). Visalam Hotel, Kanadukathan (cghearth.com). Taj Gateway, Madurai (tajhotels.com). Spice Village, Kumily (cghearth.com). Brunton Boatyard, Kochi (cghearth.com).

How strenuous? A good level of fitness is essential. Unless you can cope with everyday walking and stair-climbing without difficulty and are reliably sure-footed, this tour is not for you. There is a lot of walking and standing in a warm conditions, including some steep climbs to temples. Removing and replacing shoes to visit temples is tiring. There are frequent hotel changes and some long drives (3–4½ hours) during which facilities are limited and of poor quality. Unruly traffic, busy streets and uneven ground are standard in India. Average distance by coach per day: 55 miles.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Illustrations. Opposite: Kumbakonam, wood engraving 1871. Above: Madurai, temple gate, watercolour by W.S. Bagdatopulas publ. 1935.

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ASIA | India

Day 7: Chettinad. Drive to the Chettinad region for a demonstration and lunch at The Bangala, a heritage hotel renowned for its food and cooking classes. Afternoon walk through the small village of Kanadukathan. Visit a family mansion, a fine example of shared accommodation according to the Chettiar tradition and observe weavers make silk sarees. First of two nights in Kanadukathan.

Day 10: Kumily. A morning drive from Tamil Nadu to Kerala. Afternoon walk around a spice plantation to explore the growing process and the complex network of correlations between species. Cardamom is most prevalent but grows alongside cinnamon, ginger, clove, nutmeg and vanilla. First of two nights in Kumily.

Indian Summer Delhi, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Shimla 16–27 March 2021 (mh 666) 12 days • £5,680 International flights not included Lecturer: Raaja Bhasin A fascinating selection of places which have the common feature of relating to the last years of the Raj. Shimla, the grandest hill station, the buildings a hotch-potch of bastardised European styles.

Reached by the famous mountain ‘toy train’.

Chandigarh, the modern ideal city built

by Le Corbusier.

Led by Raaja Bhasin, historian, author, lecturer and Shimla resident.

Both the high noon of the British Empire in India and its closing years were played out in the city of Delhi and in the ‘summer capital’, Shimla (formerly Simla), dubbed by many the grandest outpost of the Pax Britannica. Tracing the ebb and flow of the Raj in two imperial capitals, this tour covers architecture, events, lifestyles,

and landscapes of the Western Himalaya and numerous stories of places and people. Amritsar is part of this story, and Chandigarh provides a glimpse into Indian Utopia after Independence.

Built, destroyed and rebuilt a dozen times, Delhi is one of the oldest cities in the world, and also one of the most multilayered. It is home to some 15 million people and its heterogeneous population has genetic strands that span the Indian subcontinent, Central Asia and several other parts of the world. Today, towers of chrome and steel stand side by side with centuries-old monuments built by the Mughal rulers. Between the two, the immense architectural momentum of the Raj culminated in the creation of New Delhi, still the core of this fast-expanding city.

Up in the hills of the Western Himalaya, Shimla was the summer capital of British India, the grandest of the British hill stations. For around a century, a fifth of the human race was ruled from its heights for the better part of every year. The architecture is practically a gazetteer of western styles, but often with a twist, a nod to the heritage of the subcontinent.

The town created an enigmatic way of life and the steamier side of its social world gave inspiration to Rudyard Kipling, who as a young correspondent spent some summers amidst the cedars. Many decisions that shaped India and the region were made within sight of the snowclad Himalayas. Today it is the capital of the state of Himachal Pradesh and many of the grander buildings, bungalows and streets still evoke the heyday of a past age.

West of it lies the fertile ‘Land of Five Rivers’, the Punjab. Here is the sacred city of Amritsar, site of the Golden Temple, the most sacred shrine of the Sikh faith. This was also where the Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place in 1919, when a crowd of unarmed civilians was fired upon. The event totally altered the face of Indian nationalism. Even Winston Churchill was moved enough to remark, ‘It is an extraordinary event, an event which stands in singular and sinister isolation’.

The border with Pakistan is close to Amritsar, and with belligerence which is almost histrionic, the sundown ceremony of lowering the flags and closing the gates is played out daily. Nearby is the former princely state of Kapurthala where the Francophile ruler, Jagatjit Singh, completed a palace in 1908, loosely modelled on Versailles.

He tried to introduce French as his court language.

When the Punjab was divided between India and Pakistan in 1947 the state capital Lahore was replaced in the Indian portion by a brand new city, Chandigarh. Its building in the 1950s was a deliberate break with the past. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru called it ‘a new city of free India, totally fresh and wholly responsive to the future generations of this great country.’ Led by Le Corbusier, the city design and urban elements were unabashedly modern and western. Still admired and criticized in equal measure by planners, architects and urban historians, it is yet rated as among the best cities in India in which to live.

ASIA | India

Visit www.martinrandall.com for a detailed itinerary and fuller practicalities, or contact us.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £5,680.

Single occupancy: £6,860. International flights are not included.

Included: arrival and departure airport car transfers; flights with AirIndia: Delhi to Amritsar (Airbus 321) and with Vistara: Chandigarh to Delhi (Airbus 320); travel by private coach, people carriers and one journey by train from Kalka to Kandaghat (near Shimla); hotel accommodation as described below; breakfasts; 10 lunches (including 1 packed lunch) and 8 dinners with beer, water, soft drinks and coffee at lunch plus wine at dinner; all admissions; all tips; all taxes; the services of the lecturer, tour manager and local guides.

Illustration: Amritsar, The Golden Temple, engraving from 'Across India in the 20th Century', 1898.

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Flights from London to Delhi are not included in the price of the tour. We will send the

Cambodia by River From the Mekong Delta to the city of Angkor ‘ Because of the lecturer’s personal connection to some of the locations, I really felt like we were getting an insider’s look... Raaja’s presence made the tour priceless.’ recommended flight options when they are available to book in April 2020, and ask that you make your own flight reservation.

Visas: required for most foreign nationals and not included in the tour price. We will advise on the procedure.

Accommodation. Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi (tajhotels.com). Taj Swarna, Amritsar (tajhotels.com). Taj Chandigarh, Chandigarh (tajhotels.com). The Oberoi Cecil, Shimla (oberoihotels.com).

How strenuous? A good level of fitness is necessary. The tour involves a lot of standing and walking. Steep, uneven ground and irregular paving are standard. Unruly traffic and the busy streets of larger cities require some vigilance.

It should not be attempted by anyone who has difficulty with everyday walking and stairclimbing. There is a 3-hour train journey during which facilities are limited and may be of poor quality. There are two coach journeys of 4 hours or more. Most sites have some shade but the Indian sun is strong, even in the cooler seasons.

Average distance by coach per day: 33 miles.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

3–15 November 2020 (mg 552) 13 days • £6,130 International flights not included Lecturer: Dr Giles Tillotson

Bengal by River 16–27 November 2020 (mg 580) 12 days • £5,410 International flights not included Lecturer: Dr Anna-Maria Misra Visit www.martinrandall.com for full details, or contact us.

Journey by river from the Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam to Siem Reap, the heart of the city of Angkor.

Outstanding collection of statuary in the National Museum in Phnom Penh.

Six nights in a 5-star hotel in Siem Reap, to see all the major sites of the Khmer Empire.

Two visits to Angkor Wat, morning and evening, to see how the colours of the stone change with the light.

Private farewell dinner in a tenth-century Angkorian temple.

At its apogee in the twelfth century, the Khmer Empire that gave birth to Cambodia stretched from modern-day Vietnam in the east to Myanmar in the northwest. In the region of Angkor alone (around the modern-day city of Siem Reap), modern digital analysis has recently revealed to us a city of up to a million inhabitants that would just fit within London’s M25 motorway.

Here and elsewhere the Empire’s kings and craftsmen built temple complexes that count among the most sophisticated and impressive in world history. The best known, Angkor Wat, attracts millions of visitors each year. Yet lying off the beaten track are a great number of temples that arguably rival Angkor Wat in atmosphere and significance.

The extraordinary Khmer civilisation broke up in later centuries, and power in Indochina shifted to Thailand and Vietnam. Cambodia was a French protectorate from the mid-19th century until independence in 1953. Its late-20th-century history is one of tragedy and horror, from the covert bombing by the US during the Vietnam War to the emergence of the Khmer Rouge which, under its genocidal leader Pol Pot, was responsible for the deaths of at least two million people. Scarcely a single family was untouched by this nightmare. Yet the Cambodian people remain strikingly friendly and good-humoured.

Our journey is conducted for much of the way on water – a precious commodity in the life of Cambodians. The Khmer Empire built complex systems of channels and reservoirs to manage the seasonal flow. Modern-day Cambodians manage it still. From May onwards Himalayan meltwaters pour down the Mekong River, reversing the flow of its tributary, the Tonle Sap River, and tripling the size of Tonle Sap Lake, adjacent to Siem Reap, where people live in stilt houses above the floodwaters. Water saturates the rice fields that provide Cambodia’s staple crop in an economy that remains essentially rural.

The contrast between the enduring simplicity of life in the countryside and the mystery and grandeur of the ancient temples – many of them jungle-shrouded and little-visited – distils the distinct character of Cambodia.

From the Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam to the region of Angkor we experience its many facets past and present, and explore two of southeast Asia’s most congenial cities. Phnom Penh has undergone a miraculous recovery from the Khmer Rouge era, when it was forcibly evacuated and left to ruin. Scars remain, but overall the city is booming, and despite rapid development much historic architecture remains. Siem Reap meanwhile has completely resisted the blight of high-rise development and preserved its charm and vitality.

Illustration: The Towers at Angkor Wat, from 'Ruins in Cambodia' by P. Jeannerat de Beerski, publ. 1923.

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ASIA | India, Cambodia

Painted Palaces of Rajasthan

November 2021 Full details available in February 2020 Please call us to register your interest or e-mail alerts@martinrandall.co.uk

Vietnam: History, People, Food From Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh In South Vietnam lies the country’s largest metropolis, Ho Chi Minh City. Under its old name, Saigon, it was the capital of French Cochinchina and later of the Republic of South Vietnam. As the country’s main commercial hub, it is dizzying and captivating. North of the city, to the casual eye, the landscape barely seems scarred by the Resistance War against the USA that shattered the region over half a century ago, but beneath this serene landscape the immense network of tunnels dug by the Viet Cong at Cu Chi remains astonishingly intact.

Itinerary Day 1: Hanoi. Rooms are available from 2.00pm on 30th October, allowing for early checkin today (flights from London are not included – see Practicalities). The tour begins with lunch at the hotel, and an afternoon cyclo-tour offers a gentle introduction to the city. Hanoi’s Old Quarter and the 36 guild streets represent the traditional commercial heart of the city: most street names start with the word hang (goods, merchandise), for example hang bac (silver); hang mam (fish sauce); hang bong (cotton). First of three nights in Hanoi.

October/November 2021 Full details available in February 2020 Please call us to register your interest or e-mail alerts@martinrandall.co.uk The entire length of the country in 13 days, featuring several unesco World Heritage Sites.

Several arrangements specially made to avoid the crowds, and more time spent in each city than most mainstream tours.

Stay in some of the best hotels in Asia, in Vietnam’s most lively and enchanting cities.

ASIA | Vietnam

Covers diverse aspects of Vietnamese culture and history: dynastic kingdoms, colonialism, socialism, ethnology, gastronomy, society.

‘A thousand years enslaved by China/A hundred years trampled by France/Twenty years of civil war day by day’. The words of the revered 20thcentury poet and songwriter Trịnh Cong Son encapsulate the tribulations of the Vietnamese nation; it is impossible to understand Vietnam without first reflecting on its turbulent past.

The country’s strategic location has made it vulnerable to millennia of invasions. In 111 bc, Vietnam fell to the Han dynasty and became a colonial vassal of China until 938; it was colonised by the French in the mid-1800s.

Following the declaration of independence in 1945, the Vietnamese fought the First Indochina War until 1954, eventually defeating the French in the battle of Dien Bien Phu. Divided in 1954 into a communist state in the North and the Republic of South Vietnam, it fell victim to the polarized ideological struggle of the Cold War 18

and was not reunified until 1975, after another protracted war – referred to in the West as the Vietnam War. Yet today’s visitors find a dynamic country, respectful of its traditions but eager to move forward. Its economic growth rate is currently among the highest in the world, while its society remains firmly anchored by its customs and beliefs. Vietnamese culture is further enriched by the indigenous traditions of the 54 ethnic minorities that share the territory with the main Viet (Kinh) people. The intertwining of various creeds – Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism – has resulted in Tam giao dong nguyen (The Three Teachings from one source), a doctrine of tolerance and peaceful coexistence.

The tour starts in North Vietnam, the cradle of Vietnamese civilisation with its fertile Red River delta. The capital, Hanoi, was established in 1010 and has remained a political and administrative centre ever since. The aesthetic charm of the city derives from its blend of ancient monuments, pagodas and temples, alongside the 19th-century colonial buildings.

The city of Hue, in central Vietnam, is often regarded as the intellectual and spiritual centre of Buddhism. The Nguyen lords, the last feudal dynasty of Vietnam, made Hue their capital in 1802, leaving a complex of impressive monuments.

To the south of Hue, along the majestic Hai Van pass, lies the ancient port of Hoi An, one of the most delightful and vibrant towns in southeast Asia. Once an important trading post, it reflects a blend of indigenous and foreign cultural influences, with its well preserved communal houses, ancient wells and a unique Japanese roof-covered bridge.

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Day 2: Hanoi. The National Museum of History offers an excellent overview, encompassing Vietnam’s prehistory up to the 1947 Revolution and the founding of the Democratic Republic.

On the Hoan Kiem Lake (Lake of the Returned Sword) is the Turtle Tower Pagoda and the Temple of the Jade Mountain, connected to the city by the iconic red Huc Bridge. The Temple of Literature was built in 1070 and is dedicated to Confucius. It is the site of Vietnam’s first university (1076). See also the Presidential Palace and Ho Chi Minh’s House (exteriors).

Day 3: Hanoi. Eating on the street is a typical activity for Hanoians and makes up an important part of the city’s unique culture.

This morning we explore the Old Quarter from this gastronomic perspective. We also pass a number of French colonial buildings, such as the cathedral and the Post Office. In the afternoon there is a visit to the Museum of Ethnology, which houses an extensive collection of traditional costumes and artefacts from Vietnam’s 54 ethnic minority groups.

Day 4: Ha Long Bay, Lan Ha Bay. Drive to Ha Long Bay (Bay of the Descending Dragon) (c. 3 hours), a vast area characterised by thousands of towering limestone islands rising dramatically from the sea. It was designated a unesco World Heritage site in 1994 – a justified accolade for a place of sublime natural beauty. We board our ship at the busy Tuan Chau port, but then divert to the less-visited (but no less spectacular) Lan Ha Bay. Overnight in Lan Ha Bay. Day 5: Ha Long Bay, Hue. See a fishing village from the vantage point of a bamboo boat, where the residents live in remarkably spacious floating houses. The monolithic islands also hide numerous caves, adorned with stalactites and stalagmites. Disembark the boat mid morning and drive back to Hanoi. Fly to

Hue (Vietnam Airlines), arriving early evening.

First of two nights in Hue. Day 6: Hue. Take a Dragon Boat down the Perfume river to the 17th-century Thien Mu Pagoda (Pagoda of the Celestial Lady), which is Hue’s best-preserved religious monument and still functions as a monastery. Visit a private garden house, the former home of a Princess, and see the collection of artefacts from the days of the former Royal Empire with one of her direct descendants. In the afternoon, see several Royal Tombs, including that of the second Nguyen Emperior Minh Mang, which is renowned for its symmetry and grandeur.

Day 7: Hue, Hoi An. Rise before dawn for an out-of-hours visit to the Imperial Citadel, built in accordance with the principles of ancient oriental philosophy when Hue became the capital of unified Vietnam in 1802 ce.

Return to the hotel for breakfast, then depart by coach for Hoi An in the late morning, via a working pagoda where the nuns prepare a Buddhist (vegetarian) lunch. First of three nights in Hoi An. Day 8: Hoi An. In the morning, explore the atmospheric old town on foot. It has been more or less safeguarded from the modern curse of motorised vehicles, and its riverside charm adds to the appeal. The colourful architecture has been exceptionally well preserved and reflects influences from China and Japan as well as its indigenous heritage. The afternoon is free to relax or take part in an optional cooking class (details available at a later stage).

Day 12: Cu Chi, Tay Ninh. Travel to Ben Duoc by speed boat to visit the Cu Chi tunnels, a vast and elaborate underground network used by the Viet Cong during the Second Indochina War. We visit the more extensive but less-busy site, which is slightly further from the city. Drive to the Cao Dai Holy See in Tay Ninh and observe the colourful midday service. Founded in the early 20th century and indigenous to Vietnam, Cao Dai is a fusion of elements from Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism, with some aspects of Christianity and Islam.

Day 13: Ho Chi Minh City. The tour ends after breakfast.

‘ The local guides were outstanding... with widespread experience, easy interaction with group members, enthusiasm and energy.’

Photograph opposite: Hue, Royal Tomb of Emperor Minh Mang. Illustration below: Japanese woodblock.

TOURS IN JAPAN | 2021

Art in Japan April & November 2021 Full details available in March 2020

Japanese Gardens May 2021 Full details available in March 2020

Traditions of Japan October 2021 Full details available in March 2020

ASIA | Vietnam, Japan

Day 9: My Son, Hoi An. The Cham civilisation ruled central Vietnam between the fourth and 13th centuries, and the Hindu sanctuary at My Son (c. 40 km inland from Hoi An) contains the most extensive temple remains to survive – and was once the capital of the Champa Kingdom. The temples are partially ruined, and only 20 remain where c. 70 once stood, but the site’s setting in a tropical valley surrounded by mountains and streams is nonetheless beguiling.

In the evening we explore the street food scene of Hoi An.

from materials imported from France – the Central Post Office, completed 1891, and the Reunification Palace, the headquarters of the Saigon Government during the American War. Also visit the War Remnants Museum.

Day 10: Hoi An, Ho Chi Minh City. Visit the Museum of Cham Sculpture in Da Nang, which houses the world’s largest collection. Fly from Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam Airlines), arriving early afternoon. Late-afternoon visit to Salon Saigon, a contemporary art space in a restored French colonial building. There is a tour with the curator, a Vietnamese-French artist and scholar. Continue to dinner at the residence of Henry Cabot Lodge, the US Ambassador to South Vietnam in the 1960s. The villa is now a private residence that has been fully restored to its former glory. First of three nights in Ho Chi Minh City.

Day 11: Ho Chi Minh City. Explore Ho Chi Minh City’s architectural cocktail of colonialera buildings, pagodas, merchants’ residences, modern buildings and vernacular houses. We see the Opera House, Notre Dame Cathedral – a red brick edifice with twin spires constructed

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New Orleans to Natchitoches History, architecture and jazz Itinerary Day 1: London to New Orleans. Fly at c. 2.00pm (British Airways) from London Heathrow to New Orleans, arriving c. 7.30pm (total flying time c. 10 hours). Transfer to the hotel in the French Quarter. First of three nights in New Orleans.

Day 2: New Orleans. A day on foot in the colourful French Quarter, with its ornate cast-iron balconies, lush courtyards and garden squares. Visit the Historic New Orleans Collection which gives an overview of the city.

The 18th century Spanish buildings surrounding Jackson Square include St Louis Cathedral, the oldest Catholic cathedral in the US, and the Cabildo, now the state museum.

Day 3: New Orleans, Edgard. A working sugar cane plantation, Evergreen’s 37 outbuildings spread across the estate make it one of the most intact plantation complexes along the Mississippi. The Whitney Plantation museum focuses on the lives of Louisiana’s enslaved people.

24 February–6 March 2021 (mh 644) 10 nights • £5,380 Lecturer: Professor Jeremy Black A journey through Louisiana, experiencing its extraordinary history, architecture and music.

Five nights in New Orleans before venturing to Baton Rouge, Lafayette and north to historic Natchitoches on the Cane River.

Colonial architecture of the French, Spanish, Art Deco and 20th century eras are all represented, as well as a variety of plantation houses.

AMERICAS | USA

Dominated by New Orleans and the Mississippi River, an exploration of Louisiana reveals a rich history and culture. Named by French settlers after Louis XIV, the state has also been home to Native Americans, Spanish, Germans and Africans, each bringing their own cuisine, traditions and music to the region. Some groups, such as the French-Canadian Cajuns, remained distinct and preserved their customs and language, while others melded into a unique Louisiana culture, which translates into ‘laissez les bons temps rouler,’ a local credo.

New Orleans captures the energy of this vibrant mix, with jazz heard from every street, day and night. Culture drips from everywhere, like Spanish moss on the region’s languid trees. Even the devastation of Hurricane Katrina (2005) has inspired a creative response to re-building, and a new City Park filled with art and sculpture remains a vibrant memorial to survival.

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The city owed its riches to the trade that flowed down the Mississippi and through its port. Those enslaved worked the cotton fields in the upper South and the sugar plantations in the Gulf South; they might be bought and sold in New Orleans, the largest slave market operated in North America. Here, wealthy sugar barons built lavish town houses from where they might entertain and conduct business. Slowly, their abodes along the river grew from modest plantation houses to vast mansions, a sharp contrast to the slave cabins scattered far from sight.

In Natchitoches, the first French settlement in the state, members of the Creole Metoyer family rose from slavery to become some of the wealthiest plantation owners in the area.

The cotton plantation houses of the Cane River remain almost intact in this northern rural region. A former plantation worker, Clementine Hunter, captured her life on Melrose Plantation in a series of paintings that remains on the site. Surrounded by pecan orchards and with a river running beside its historic main street, Natchitoches retains the southern slow-paced way of life, captured in Robert Harling’s 1987 play, Steel Magnolias.

The unconventional politics of 1930s Louisiana are epitomised in the career of Governor Huey P. Long, whose grandiose constructions in Baton Rouge reflect the future he imagined for Louisiana and himself, before being assassinated in the marble corridors of his Art Deco State Capitol. Long’s story was the basis for Robert Penn Warren’s novel, All the King’s Men, earning America’s most coveted literary prize, the Pulitzer, in 1947.

book online at www.martinrandall.com

Day 4: New Orleans, Nottoway. Botanical Gardens thrive in an area destroyed by Hurricane Katrina and the Sculpture Park displays works by Renoir, Magritte, Hepworth and Moore. The extensive collection of works in the New Orleans Museum of Art concentrates on American and French artists, including Degas. In the afternoon visit Nottoway Plantation, one of the largest houses in the South, designed by Louisiana architect Henry Howard. First of two nights in Baton Rouge.

Day 5: Baton Rouge. An early plantation home (dating from 1791), Magnolia Mound shows French and West Indian influences. In downtown Baton Rouge, the Art Deco State Capitol rises to 450 feet and the 27th-floor observation deck affords views across the city.

In contrast, the Old State Capitol is an extravagant, castellated Gothic structure with a stained-glass dome.

Day 6: Lafayette. A morning boat trip (private charter) through bayous overhung with Spanish moss and home to birds and swamp life from alligators to catfish. Drive north to Oakland Plantation with original outbuildings, including the general store and post office, doctor’s house and slave quarters. First of two nights in Natchitoches.

Day 7: Natchitoches. The American Cemetery contains the graves of the first French settlers and the influential Metoyer family. Visits to some of the historic houses (by special arrangement) and the Church of the Immaculate Conception.

In the afternoon visit Creole Melrose Plantation, former residence of the artist Clementine Hunter, to see her murals in situ.

Day 8: Vermilionville. In an idyllic setting beside the Bayou Vermilion, the open air museum recreates life in the area from 1765 to 1890 through original and reconstructed buildings.

Frank Lloyd Wright and the Chicago School Day 9: New Orleans. Wide, tree-lined avenues form the gracious Garden District, whose mansions are still home to the rich and famous.

Gothic novelist, Anne Rice, lived in a Greek Revival-style house and was inspired by the neighbourhood’s Lafayette Cemetery. Free afternoon. Suggestions include returning to the French Quarter for tours of Hermann-Grima House, with original outbuildings and slave quarters and the 1860s Gallier House Museum.

Day 10: New Orleans, Garyville. A free morning in New Orleans. In the afternoon drive to Garyville and visit San Francisco Plantation House, a distinctive and opulent plantation house on the Mississipi river. Continue to New Orleans Airport in time for the flight to London, departing at c. 9.30pm.

Day 11. Arrive London Heathrow c. 11.00am.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £5,380 or £4,810 without all flights. Single occupancy: £6,140 or £5,570 without all flights.

Included: return flights with British Airways (World Traveller, Boeing 747, MD80 Jet) from London to New Orleans; private coach throughout; hotel accommodation as described below; all breakfasts, 3 lunches and 5 dinners with wine, water and coffee (plus meals on flights); all admission charges; all tips; all state and airport taxes; the services of the lecturer and tour manager.

Visas: British citizens can enter the USA without a visa by applying for a visa waiver online. We will advise on this. If you have travelled to Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria since March 2011 you are not eligible for the waiver and will need to apply for a visa.

Accommodation. The Monteleone, New Orleans (hotelmonteleone.com). Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center (hilton.com). Historic B&Bs, Natchitoches.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Photographs. Opposite: Houmas House, Louisiana, taken 1938, US Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington-DC. Above right: Fallingwater, courtesy of Western Pensylvania Conservancy.

Lecturers See page 23 for biographies.

Includes Fallingwater, Jacobs, Robie and Taliesin houses, Johnson Wax Building and numerous other works by Frank Lloyd Wright – many of them visited by special arrangement.

Four nights in Chicago, with visits to the masterworks of the Chicago School and Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House.

Magnificent art collections: Chicago Institute of Art, Carnegie Collection in Pittsburgh and Milwaukee Art Museum.

Drive through the countryside of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Illinois.

Frank Lloyd Wright (1869–1959), his own greatest admirer, said he had to choose between honest arrogance and hypocritical humility. Frustratingly, visiting his work makes this seem fair: in an extraordinarily long career Wright created a modern organic architecture infused with the artistic freedom and reverence for nature of his 19th-century American inheritance.

Wright embraced the Arts and Crafts, Japanese art and architecture, as well as the material advances of steel and concrete cantilevers to ‘break the box’. Interiors merge inside and out, with their fluid plans reverently anchored by their great hearths. Exteriors stress continuity with nature, and brilliantly amplify their location; be it the Wisconsin hills of Taliesin, or the Pennsylvanian gorge of Fallingwater.

That Chicago was the centre of Wright’s sphere is no coincidence. Carl Sandburg’s ‘City of Big Shoulders’ is still the continent’s most enjoyably assertive and distinctly ‘American’ city. Following the fire of 1871, it reinvented itself as the first modern metropolis, with the ‘Chicago School’ developing the technical means for, and artistic expression of, a new kind of city, and of course, the skyscraper.

Little wonder that it became so natural a home to the New Bauhaus and Mies van der Rohe, through whose elegantly sparse work Chicago’s influence extends to this day.

As well as building, Chicago’s citizens collected; and the Chicago Art Institute quickly established itself as one of the great galleries of America; a status shared by the Carnegie collection in Pittsburgh where the tour begins.

Beautifully sited on the confluence of two rivers, Pittsburgh epitomises American self-belief and its capacity for self-regeneration, and is unrecognisable from its former ‘rust-belt’ image.

Santiago Calatrava’s Milwaukee art museum, spreading out over Lake Michigan, bears equal testament to that city’s revival.

In contrast to these urban scenes, the tour meanders through the gently prosperous midwestern countryside of three states, staying in the leafy university town of Madison sited on the isthmus between two lakes, and finishing at Mies’s sublime Farnsworth House on the banks of the Fox river.

Itinerary Day 1: Pittsburgh. Fly at c. 4.20pm (direct with British Airways) from London Heathrow to Pittsburgh, arriving c. 7.30pm (total flying time c. 8 hours). Set between the Allegheny, Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

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AMERICAS | USA

How strenuous? This tour would not be suitable for anyone with difficulties with everyday walking and stair-climbing. Coaches can rarely park near the houses and the plantation houses visited do not have lifts (nor do all the hotels).

Average distance by coach per day: c. 70 miles.

4–15 June 2021 (mh 777) 11 nights • £6,320 Lecturer: Tom Abbott

Frank Lloyd Wright continued

Monongahela and Ohio rivers, Pittsburgh is modern, dynamic, sleek, the smoke and steel of the past having been replaced by glass and aluminium. Carnegie, Frick and Mellon, great patrons of the arts, all made their money here before moving to the East Coast. First of three nights in Pittsburgh.

Day 2: Fallingwater, Kentuck Knob. Drive out to Fallingwater, quintessential Frank Lloyd Wright (1936). In a spectacular setting amongst the woodland of Bear Run nature reserve, the house seems to grow from, and float above, the water and rocks. You will see not only the waterfall but experience it from inside the house; ‘the most sublime integration of man and nature’ (New York Times). Kentuck Knob (Wright 1953), a hexagonal building with panoramic views of the Pennsylvanian countryside, now owned by Lord Palumbo.

Day 3: Pittsburgh. Begin with a walk around Pittsburgh passing H.H. Richardson’s Allegheny Courthouse, the Mellon bank building and Philip Johnson’s PPG Place. The Carnegie Museum of Art has an extensive and varied collection including the Heinz Architectural department, European and contemporary art. End with a cable car ride up the Duquesne Incline.

Day 4: Pittsburgh to Madison. Morning flight to Chicago and from there continue by coach to Madison. Stop en route in Rockford to visit the Laurent House, commissioned in 1951 by

Kenneth and Phyllis Laurent and their home until 2012. First of two nights in Madison.

Day 5: Spring Green, Madison. Set in the beautiful Wisconsin countryside just outside Spring Green lies Wright’s former home and studio, Taliesin. Here he established the Taliesin Foundation to train architects; Hillside School (1932) exemplifies Wright’s break away from the ‘Victorian box’. The Romeo and Juliet Windmill and several homes and farms designed for members of Wright’s family are also seen from the exterior. In the suburbs visit the recently restored Jacobs House (1936), the purest and most famous example of Wright’s Usonian concept.

Day 6: Madison, Milwaukee. Walk to the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center, a monumental civic building set on the shores of Lake Monona (based on Wright’s 1938 design, it was completed in 1997). The Unitarian Meeting House (1946), distinguished by its soaring copper roof and glass-prowed sanctuary, is currently under restoration. Drive to the excellent Milwaukee Art Museum to see the Prairie School Archives, with free time for the collection of European and 20th-cent.

American art. End the day with a visit to one of Wright’s American System-Built homes (1916).

Overnight Milwaukee.

Day 7: Wind Point, Racine, Chicago. At Wind Point visit Wingspread: the expansive low-lying building designed for the head of the Johnson

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Galleries of the American Midwest September/October 2021 Full details available in March 2020

Opera in Santa Fe May 2021 Full details available in June 2020

AMERICAS | USA

Connoisseur’s New York August 2021 Full details available in March 2020

Wax Corporation. Continue south to Racine on the shores of Lake Michigan and the Johnson Wax Building built in 1936 with its half acre Great Workroom, unique mushroom columns and innovative use of glass. Drive further south still to Chicago; our hotel is in Burnham & Root’s restored Reliance Building, the first ‘skyscraper’ built in the 1890s. First of four nights in Chicago.

Day 8: Chicago. The morning walk looks at the outstanding monuments of ‘The Loop’ to which Wright, Mies van der Rohe, Louis Sullivan and Frank Gehry have all contributed. Afternoon at the Chicago Art Institute, extended by Renzo Piano; the architectural courtyard contains several interesting pieces of sculpture and art glass from former Wright and Sullivan buildings.

See also a reconstruction of Sullivan’s stock exchange trading room. Free time to enjoy one of the world’s great art galleries.

Day 9: Chicago. Drive to the South Side to the Mies van der Rohe-designed Illinois Institute of Technology (1940–56), with additions by Rem Koolhaas. Continue to the Robie House (FLW 1910); epitome of the Prairie Style. The afternoon is free; we suggest an architectural cruise along the Chicago River, or a walk along the Magnificent Mile.

Day 10: Oak Park. In Oak Park visit Wright’s Chicago home and studio (1889) for 20 years and the birthplace of the Prairie School of architecture: ‘I loved the prairie by instinct as a great simplicity… I had an idea that the horizontal planes in buildings, those planes parallel to earth, identify themselves with the ground, make the building belong to the ground’.

The surrounding residential streets are home to a number of Wright designs and his Unity Temple.

Day 11: Chicago, Plano. Drive at midday into the Illinois countryside to Plano. Here, built beside the Fox River, is one of Mies van der Rohe’s most significant works, the Farnsworth House (1951). Drive to Chicago O’Hare airport, arriving by 5.30pm (in time for the direct flight to London, departing c. 8.30pm).

Day 12. Arrive London Heathrow at c. 10.15am.

A number of these buildings are not usually open to the public and it is possible we will not be able to include everything listed.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £6,320 or £5,590 without flights on days 1 (London–New York–Pittsburgh) and 11 (Chicago–London).

Single occupancy: £7,420 or £6,690 without flights on days 1 and 11. Note that if you take the tour without flights, the internal flight from Pittsburgh to Chicago is included.

Please call us to register your interest or e-mail alerts@martinrandall.co.uk 22

book online at www.martinrandall.com

Included: flights with British Airways (World Traveller) day 1 from London to Pittsburgh, day 11 from Chicago to London, and day 4 from Pittsburgh to Chicago with United Airlines (economy class). Flight on day 4 from Pittsburgh to Chicago is included for all participants;

Lecturers private coach throughout; hotel accommodation; all breakfasts, 2 café lunch and 7 dinners with wine, water and coffee (plus meals on flights); all admission charges; donations for private visits; all tips; all state and airport taxes; the services of the lecturer and tour manager.

Visas: British citizens can enter the USA without a visa by applying for a visa waiver online. We will advise on this. If you have travelled to Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria since March 2011 you are not eligible for the waiver and will need to apply for a visa.

Accommodation. The Renaissance Pittsburgh (renaissancepittsburghpa.com). Madison Edgewater Hotel (theedgewater.com). The Pfister, Milwaukee (thepfisterhotel.com).

An Iconic Hotel, Chicago (staypineapple.com/ the-loop-chicago).

How strenuous? Quite tiring with a lot of walking and standing around, and a fair amount of coach travel. Average distance by coach per day: 50 miles.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Illustration opposite: New York, watercolour by Donald Maxwell, publ. 1928.

SOUTH AMERICA | 2021

The Making of Argentina 22 October–2 November 2021 Lecturer: Chris Moss Full details available in March 2020 A comprehensive overview of history, politics, art, architecture, gastronomy and music.

Delicious high-altitude wines of Bodega Colomé and Cafayate.

A private tango show at one of Buenos Aires’ most historic bars.

Led by Chris Moss, journalist, author and former resident of Buenos Aires.

Peru: the Andean Heartland September 2021 Lecturer: Dr David Beresford-Jones Full details available in March 2020

Patrick Bade. Historian, writer and broadcaster. He studied at UCL and the Courtauld and was senior lecturer at Christie’s Education for many years. He has worked for the Art Fund, Royal Opera House, National Gallery and V&A. He has published on 19th- and early 20th-century painting and on historical vocal recordings.

Raaja Bhasin. Author, historian and journalist. He has published a dozen books on the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh and its capital Shimla and is a recognised authority on both. He is the state Coconvenor of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage.

Jeremy Black, Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Exeter, is an expert on American history whose works include Fighting for America. The Struggle for Mastery in North America, 1519–1871, the War of 1812, and Altered States. America since the Sixties.

He has been awarded the Samuel Eliot Morison Prize by the Society for Military History, and has been Visiting Professor at West Point.

Dr Michael Douglas-Scott. Art historian who has lectured for New York University (London) and is an Associate Lecturer at Birkbeck College, specialising primarily in 16th-century Italian art and architecture. He studied at the Courtauld and lived in Rome for several years. He has written articles for Arte Veneta, Burlington Magazine and the Journal of the Warburg & Courtauld Institutes.

Dr Alexandra Gajewski.

Architectural historian and lecturer specialising in the medieval. She obtained her PhD from the Courtauld and has lectured there and at Birkbeck College. She recently completed a research project at the Centro de Ciencias Humanas in Madrid, investigating ‘The Roles of Women as Makers of Medieval Art and Architecture’.

Martina Hinks-Edwards. Studied English at Charles University, Prague. She initially worked for MRT for many years as an interpreter for groups visiting the Czech Republic, and has led tours throughout the country since 2004. She has a particular interest in 20th-century Czech history and architecture.

Dr Jarl Kremeier. Art historian specialising in 17thto 19th-century architecture and decorative arts. He teaches Art History at the Berlin College of Acting and Berlin’s Freie Universität. He is a contributor to the Macmillan Dictionary of Art and author of Die Hofkirche der Würzburger Residenz.

Dr Luca Leoncini. Art historian with a speciality in 15th-century painting and a wide knowledge of Italian art and architecture. He obtained his degree and PhD at Rome University and studied at the Warburg Institute in London. He has also written on Mantegna and on Renaissance drawings. He is one of MRT’s longest serving lecturers.

Rowena Loverance. Byzantine art historian specialising in sculpture, mosaics and icons. She studied history and archaeology at Oxford and was Head of e-learning at the British Museum and a Visiting Research Fellow at King’s College, London. Her publications include the illustrated histories Byzantium and Christian Art. Dr Sophie Oosterwijk. Researcher and lecturer with degrees in Art History, Medieval Studies and English Literature. Her specialisms are the Middle Ages, and the art and culture of the Netherlands. She has taught at the universities of Leicester, Manchester and St Andrews, and lectures at Cambridge. She is Vice President of the Church Monuments Society.

Asoka Pugal. Historian and lecturer.

Born in Tamil Nadu, he graduated from the University of Madras followed by postgraduate studies at Madras Law College. He has worked in the tourist industry for many years and has produced TV documentaries. In 2001, he joined the Board of Studies in Ancient History and Archaeology at the University of Madras.

Professor Jan Smaczny. Emeritus Professor of Music at Queen’s University, Belfast and an authority on Czech music. An author, broadcaster and journalist, he has published books on the Prague Provisional Theatre and Dvořák’s Cello Concerto.

He studied at the University of Oxford and the Charles University, Prague.

Dr Peter Webb. Arabist and historian, specialising in early and medieval Islam. He has travelled extensively in the Middle East and Central Asia and has taught at SOAS and the American University of Paris. He is now a Lecturer in Arabic at Leiden University.

Please call us to register your interest or e-mail alerts@martinrandall.co.uk Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

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Spectacular scenery and geology in the Calchaquí Valleys.

Tom Abbott. Specialist in architectural history from the Baroque to the 20th century with a particular interest in German and American modern. Studied Art History in the USA and Paris and has a wide knowledge of the performing arts. Since 1987 he has lived in Berlin.

Tours & events by date | 2020

23– 1 Eastern Andalucía: Caliphs to Kings

(mg 139) Gijs van Hensbergen 26– 4 Extremadura (mg 143) Paul Richardson 30– 8 Classical Turkey (mg 147)

Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones 31– 8 Normans in the South (mg 148)

John McNeill

April 2020

March 2020

TOURS & EVENTS BY DATE

3– 6 Art in the Age of Angst (mg 115)

Dr Ulrike Ziegler 3–12 Israel & Palestine (mg 116)

Dr Garth Gilmour 4 Caravaggio & Rembrandt (lg 117)

Dr Richard Stemp 5 The Italian Renaissance (lg 119)

Dr Michael Douglas-Scott 4–14 New Orleans to Natchitoches (mg 118)

Professor Jeremy Black 7–18 Morocco (mg 120) James Brown 10–14 Venetian Palaces (mg 121)

Dr Michael Douglas-Scott 13–15 Symposium in Taunton:

The Later Georgians:

Britain 1760–1830 (mg 123) 14–25 Angkor Wat & Antiquities of Cambodia

(mg 125) Dr Peter Sharrock 16–22 Raphael 500 (mg 133)

Dr Michael Douglas-Scott 16–25 Minoan Crete (mg 131)

Dr Alan Peatfield 16–28 Civilisations of Sicily (mg 132)

Dr Luca Leoncini 17–22 Opera in Vienna (mg 129)

Barry Millington 19– 23 Opera & Ballet in Paris (mg 134)

Dr Michael Downes 19–25 Modern Art on the Côte d’Azur

(mg 135) Mary Lynn Riley 19–27 Music in Northern Italy with Stringletter (eg 136)

Professor Robert Adelson 23–29 The Art of Florence (mg 140)

Dr Michael Douglas-Scott 24

2 Mother, Maiden, Mistress (lg 152)

Dr Catherine McCormack 3–14 Samarkand & Silk Road Cities (mg 151)

Dr Peter Webb 8–17 Albania: Crossroads of Antiquity

(mg 160) Carolyn Perry 13–24 Art in Japan (mg 170) Meri Arichi 14–20 Gardens & Villas of the Veneto

(mg 167) Amanda Patton 15–19 Opera & Ballet in Copenhagen

(mg 162) Dr Michael Downes 15–19 Ravenna & Urbino (mg 172)

Dr Luca Leoncini 16–23 Gastronomic Provence (mg 173)

Marc Millon 18–25 The Cornish Peninsula (mg 166)

Anthony Lambert 18–26 Essential Jordan (mg 171)

Felicity Cobbing 19–24 A Festival of Impressionism (mg 183)

Professor Frances Fowle 19–26 Gardens of the Bay of Naples (mg 182)

Steven Desmond 19–26 The Ring in Chicago (mg 169)

Barry Millington & Tom Abbott 20–26 Cities of al-Andalus (mg 165)

Professor Amira Bennison 20–27 Gastronomic Valencia (mg 174)

Gijs van Hensbergen 20– 2 Civilisations of Sicily (mg 178)

Dr Philippa Joseph 20– 2 Traditions of Japan (mg 179)

Pauline Chakmakjian 21–25 Opera in Berlin (mg 164)

Dr John Allison 21–26 Palladian Villas (mg 176)

Dr Michael Douglas-Scott 22 London’s Underground Railway

(lg 159) Andrew Martin 22–30 The Cathedrals of England (mg 175)

Jon Cannon 23– 4 Baroque Music in the Bolivian Missions

(mg 185) Jeffrey Skidmore obe 24– 26 Chamber Music Short Break:

The Leonore Piano Trio (mg 168) 25– 5 Sailing the Dalmatian Coast (mg 184)

Dr Ffiona Gilmore Eaves 27– 2 Pompeii & Herculaneum (mg 181)

Dr Mark Grahame 27– 3 Southern Tuscany (mg 180)

Professor Fabrizio Nevola 29–12 East Coast Galleries (mg 186)

Mary Lynn Riley

book online at www.martinrandall.com

30– 6 Gardens & Villas of the Italian Lakes

(mg 177) Steven Desmond

May 2020 4 Roman London Walk (lg 194)

Professor Simon Esmonde Cleary 4–11 Footpaths of Umbria (mg 190)

Nigel McGilchrist 5–12 Roman Southern Britain (mg 191)

Professor Simon Esmonde Cleary 5–15 Sailing the Dalmatian Coast (mg 192)

Dr Zoe Opacic 7–18 Japanese Gardens (mg 200)

Kristina Taylor 8–15 St Petersburg (mg 196)

Dr Alexey Makhrov 8–18 Concertgebouw Mahler Festival

(mg 203) Stephen Johnson 10–15 At Home at Ardgowan (mg 204)

Caroline Knight 11–16 Wines of Tuscany (mg 210)

Michelle Cherutti-Kowal mw 11–17 Opera in Prague & Brno (mg 211)

Professor Jan Smaczny 11–24 The Western Balkans (mg 214)

Elizabeth Roberts 14 The London Backstreet Walk (lg 209)

Martin Randall 15 London Organs Day (lg 881) 15–20 New English Gardens & RHS Chelsea

(mg 218) Amanda Patton 15–26 Samarkand & Silk Road Cities (mg 202)

Dr Peter Webb 17–20 Norman Conquest & Plantagenet Power (mg 215) Dr Marc Morris 18–23 Gardens of Sintra (mg 216)

Dr Gerald Luckhurst 18-24 Walking Hadrian’s Wall (mg 221)

Graeme Stobbs 19 London’s Top Ten (lg 213)

Sophie Campbell 19–21 Chamber Music Short Break:

The Albion String Quartet (mg 219) 19–25 The Ring in Leipzig (mg 220)

Barry Millington 19–28 The Medieval Pyrenees (mg 217)

John McNeill 20–27 Iceland’s Story (mg 222)

Dr Emily Lethbridge 20–27 Gastronomic Veneto (mg 224)

Marc Millon & Dr R. T. Cobianchi 21–24 Georgian Dublin (mg 223)

Dr Conor Lucey 21– 25 Opera in Turin & Milan (mg 230)

Dr John Allison & Dr Luca Leoncini 21–27 Early Spain: Asturias & Cantabria

(mg 225) Gail Turner 23– 1 Classical Greece (mg 212)

Professor Antony Spawforth 25– 2 Great Irish Houses (mg 233)

Anthony Lambert

Illustrations. Opposite: Seville, watercolour by Mortimer Menpes, publ. 1903.

Below: Oberammergau, wood engraving c. 1880.

27 Hampstead in the 1930s (lg 234)

Monica Bohm-Duchen 29– 6 Textile Collections in Russia with HALI (eg 889)

Dr Alexey Makhrov & Ben Evans 31– 7 Courts of Northern Italy (mg 235)

Dr Michael Douglas-Scott

June 2020

3– 6 Versailles: Seat of the Sun King (mg 289) Professor Antony Spawforth 4–12 Danish Art & Design (mg 290)

Shona Kallestrup 6–10 West Country Churches (mg 291)

John McNeill 6–12 French Gothic (mg 297)

Dr Jana Gajdošová 6–12 Gastronomic West Country (mg 293)

Marc Millon 7–13 MUSIC IN THE

LOIRE VALLEY (mg 294) 8–11 Verona Opera (mg 310)

Dr Michael Douglas-Scott 8–14 Hindsgavl: Chamber Music in Denmark (mg 298) Dr Michael Downes 9–14 ‘A terrible beauty’ (mg 295)

Patrick Mercer obe 12–19 Rock Art in Scandinavia (mg 300)

Dr Paul Bahn 17–24 Medieval Normandy (mg 303)

Dr Richard Plant 19–24 Gardens of Cheshire & Shropshire

(mg 311) Amanda Patton 20–26 Western Ireland Archaeology (mg 313)

Professor Muiris O’Sullivan 21–27 Oberammergau (mg 315) Tom Abbott 24– 28 Opera in Munich (mg 314) Patrick Bade 25–31 Orkney: 5000 years of culture (mg 316)

Caroline Wickham-Jones

August 2020 3– 8 The Industrial Revolution (mg 321)

Paul Atterbury 3–11 Estonia – a modern history (mg 322)

Neil Taylor 16–21 The Lucerne Festival (mg 344)

Dr Michael Downes 17–24 Franconia (mg 337) Dr Jarl Kremeier 18–24 Oberammergau (mg 340) Tom Abbott

19–24 A Schubertiade in Catalonia (mg 342)

Richard Wigmore 19–26 The Hanseatic League (mg 343)

Andreas Puth 24– 31 THE DANUBE: CELEBRATING BEETHOVEN (mg 345) 31– 7 The Douro (mg 349) Martin Symington

Summer Choral Day | Please contact us

to register your interest

September 2020 1– 7 Cave Art in Spain (mg 350)

Dr Paul Bahn 2– 6 Flemish Painting (mg 352)

Dr Sophie Oosterwijk 5–11 Lombardy: Gastronomy & Opera

(mg 359) Fred Plotkin 6–12 Genoa & Turin (mg 355)

Dr Luca Leoncini 7–12 Goya (mg 414) Dr Xavier Bray 7–12 Rome on Film (mg 354)

Dr Pasquale Iannone 7–13 Literature & Walking in the Lake District (mg 388) Christopher Newall 8 The London Backstreet Walk (lg 362)

Barnaby Rogerson 8–12 Champagne: vines,

cellars and cuvées

(mg 358) Giles MacDonogh 8–19 Walking to Santiago (mg 357)

Dr Rose Walker 9–13 Arts & Crafts in the Cotswolds

(mg 366) Janet Sinclair 10–14 Dutch Modern (mg 365)

Professor Harry Charrington 11–18 St Petersburg (mg 360)

Dr Alexey Makhrov 11–22 Frank Lloyd Wright (mg 370)

Tom Abbott 11–22 West Coast Architecture (mg 363)

Professor Neil Jackson

TOURS & EVENTS BY DATE

1– 5 The Oberammergau Passion Play (eg 401) Tom Abbott 3 Art & Artefacts of Antiquity (lg 239)

Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones 3–10 German Gothic (mg 240) Andreas Puth 5– 8 Glyndebourne & Garsington (mg 246)

Dr John Allison 5–17 The Road to Santiago (mg 247)

Dr Richard Plant 6–13 Medieval Burgundy (mg 242)

John McNeill 8–14 Art in Tyrol, South & North (mg 250)

Dr Ulrike Ziegler 8–15 The Duchy of Milan (mg 249)

Dr Luca Leoncini 10–19 Great French Gardens (mg 252)

Steven Desmond 11–15 Medieval East Anglia (mg 253)

Dr Jana Gajdošová 12–17 Leipzig Bach Festival (mg 251)

Dr David Vickers 12–19 Gastronomic Sweden (mg 254)

Håkan Jönsson 12–23 Frank Lloyd Wright (mg 255)

Professor Neil Jackson 15–20 Walking to Derbyshire Houses

(mg 257) Anthony Lambert 21–27 The Schubertiade (mg 258)

Richard Wigmore 22 The Tudors (lg 278) Dr Neil Younger 22–28 Great Swedish Houses (mg 280)

Ulrica Häller 22–29 Gdańsk & Eastern Pomerania (mg 282)

Dr Agata Gomólka 25 The London Backstreet Walk (lg 277)

Sophie Campbell 25– 3 Finland: Aalto & Others (mg 283)

Professor Harry Charrington 27–30 Dutch Painting (mg 285)

Dr Guus Sluiter 27– 3 Yorkshire Houses (mg 287)

Dr Adam White 29 Royal Parks Walk (lg 281)

Steven Desmond 29– 3 Castles, Campaigns, Conquest (mg 292)

Dr Marc Morris 29– 4 Wines of the Côte d’Or (mg 284)

Michelle Cherutti-Kowal mw 29– 5 Lusatia: Germany’s Eastern Borderlands (mg 279) Dr Jarl Kremeier 29– 6 Walking the Rhine Valley (mg 286)

Richard Wigmore 30– 7 MUSIC ALONG THE RHINE (mg 228)

July 2020

RECENTLY LAUNCHED

The Oberammergau Passion Play 1–5 June 2020 (eg 401) | In partnership with BBC Music Magazine Please visit www.martinrandall.com for full details or contact us.

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Tours & events by date | 2020

12 The London Squares Walk (lg 367)

Martin Randall 12–18 Gastronomic Emilia-Romagna

(mg 372) Marc Millon &

Dr R. T. Cobianchi 12–20 Cyprus: stepping stone of history

(mg 368) Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones 12–22 Georgia Uncovered (mg 371) Ian Colvin 13–20 Courts of Northern Italy (mg 373)

Professor Fabrizio Nevola 14–20 Gardens & Villas of the Italian Lakes

(mg 364) Steven Desmond 14–20 Gastronomic Catalonia (mg 375)

Gijs van Hensbergen 14–20 The Etruscans (mg 374) Dr Nigel Spivey 14–20 Walking Hadrian’s Wall (mg 377)

Graeme Stobbs 14–21 The Kingdom of Bohemia (mg 380)

Dr Jarl Kremeier 14–26 Civilisations of Sicily (mg 376)

John McNeill 16 London’s Underground Railway

(lg 379) Andrew Martin 16 Great Railway Termini (lg 834)

Steven Brindle 16–25 Albania: Crossroads of Antiquity

(mg 378) Carolyn Perry 17–22 Isambard Kingdom Brunel (mg 399)

Anthony Lambert 21 John Nash (lg 415) Geoffrey Tyack 21–26 Pompeii & Herculaneum (mg 422)

Dr Nigel Spivey 21–27 Walking a Royal River (mg 381)

Sophie Campbell 21–28 Footpaths of Umbria (mg 382)

Dr Thomas-Leo True 22–26 The Victorian Renaissance (mg 423)

Christopher Newall 22–28 Connoisseur’s Prague (mg 424)

Martina Hinks-Edwards

23–27 Ravenna & Urbino (mg 427)

Dr Luca Leoncini 23–27 San Gimignano & Siena (mg 428)

Dr Michael Douglas-Scott 25– 2 St Petersburg (mg 447)

Dr Alexey Makhrov 26– 5 Bulgaria (mg 442) Dr Nikola Theodossiev 27– 5 Gastronomic Crete (mg 441)

Rosemary Barron 28– 2 THE DIVINE OFFICE: CHORAL

MUSIC IN OXFORD (mg 440) 28– 3 Rock Art in the Italian Alps (mg 446)

Dr George Nash 28– 4 Lucca (mg 443)

Dr Michael Douglas-Scott 28– 4 The Imperial Riviera (mg 435)

Richard Bassett 28– 4 World Heritage Malta (mg 434)

Juliet Rix 28– 7 Castile & León (mg 444)

Gijs van Hensbergen 29– 4 Modern Art in Sussex (mg 448)

Monica Bohm-Duchen 29– 5 In Search of Alexander (mg 445)

Professor Antony Spawforth

October 2020 Ancient Egypt at the British Museum (lg 451) Lucia Gahlin 2– 9 Ancient & Islamic Tunisia (mg 474)

Henry Hurst 3–14 Morocco (mg 452) James Brown 5– 9 Tom Abbott’s Berlin (mg 457)

Tom Abbott 5–11 Istanbul Revealed (mg 453) Jeremy Seal 5–11 The Romans in

Mediterranean Spain (mg 455)

Professor Simon Esmonde Cleary 5–18 The Western Balkans (mg 464)

Elizabeth Roberts

2

TOURS & EVENTS BY DATE

HISTORY SYMPOSIUM

Tudor Encounters 28–30 October 2020 | York Please call us to register your interest or e-mail alerts@martinrandall.co.uk 26

book online at www.martinrandall.com

6– 9 Connoisseur’s Pompeii (mg 459)

Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill 6–11 Palladian Villas (mg 456)

Dr Sarah Pearson 6–13 Medieval Alsace (mg 458)

Dr Richard Plant 9–20 Samarkand & Silk Road Cities (mg 454)

Dr Venetia Porter 10–17 Gastronomy & the Golden Age

(mg 462) Gijs van Hensbergen 10–19 Classical Greece (mg 369)

Professor Antony Spawforth 11–17 Gastronomic Friuli-Venezia Giulia

(mg 461) Marc Millon 11–18 Churches, Castles & Roman Ruins in

the Italian Alps (mg 460) John McNeill 12–17 Ancient Rome (mg 466)

Dr Mark Grahame 12–18 Piero della Francesca (mg 463)

Dr Michael Douglas-Scott 12–20 Palestine, Past & Present (mg 484)

Felicity Cobbing 12–24 Civilisations of Sicily (mg 465)

Christopher Newall 14–20 Modern Art on the Côte d’Azur

(mg 470) Monica Bohm-Duchen 14– 22 Two Spains: The Spanish Civil War

& its Aftermath (mg 472) Giles Tremlett 15–19 Verdi in Parma & Busseto (mg 469)

Dr John Allison & Dr R.T. Cobianchi 15–27 China’s Silk Road Cities (mg 486)

Dr Jamie Greenbaum 16–24 Essential Jordan (mg 477)

Sue Rollin & Jane Streetly 18–24 Art in the Netherlands (mg 510)

Dr Guus Sluiter 19–24 Pompeii & Herculaneum (mg 512)

Dr Mark Grahame 19–25 Art & Medicine (mg 513)

Professor Helen King & Dr Luca Leoncini 19–26 Bilbao to Bayonne (mg 514)

Gijs van Hensbergen 19–29 Essential Andalucía (mg 511)

Dr Philippa Joseph 19–30 Art in Japan (mg 515) Dr Monika Hinkel 20–29 Israel & Palestine (mg 500)

Dr Matthew J. Adams 23–29 Roman & Medieval Provence (mg 480)

Dr Alexandra Gajewski 24– 3 Oman, Landscapes & Peoples (mg 535)

Dr Peter Webb 26– 1 Tintoretto, Titian & Veronese (mg 521)

Dr Michael Douglas-Scott 26– 1 The Wines of Bordeaux (mg 520)

Roderick Smith mw 26– 2 Gastronomic Puglia (mg 522)

Christine Smallwood 28–30 Symposium in York: Tudor Encounters 28– 5 The Cathedrals of England (mg 450)

Jon Cannon 29 The Italian Renaissance (lg 546)

Dr Antonia Whitley

Tours & events by date | 2021 preview DATES PUBLISHED HERE 29– 1

29– 2

30

Historic Musical Instruments (mg 545) Professor Robert Adelson Naples: Art, Antiquities & Opera (mg 548) Dr Luca Leoncini Venetian Art in London (lg 547) Lucy Whitaker

November 2020 1–12 Textiles in Japan with HALI (eg 551)

Ben Evans & Alan Kennedy 2– 7 VENICE: PAGEANTRY

& PIETY (mg 553) 3–15 Painted Palaces of Rajasthan (mg 552)

Dr Giles Tillotson 4– 8 Art in Madrid (mg 554)

Dr Zahira Veliz-Bromford 5–16 Japanese Gardens (mg 555)

Yoko Kawaguchi 7–13 Beethoven in Amsterdam (mg 558)

Misha Donat 9–14 Venice Revisited (mg 559)

Dr Susan Steer 10–14 Venetian Palaces (mg 560)

Dr Michael Douglas-Scott 11–22 Art in Texas (mg 570)

Gijs van Hensbergen 12–15 Les Années Folles (mg 575) Patrick Bade 16–27 Bengal by River (mg 580)

Dr Anna-Maria Misra 26–11 Patagonia: ‘Uttermost Part of the Earth’

(mg 595) Chris Moss 29– 7 The Ring in Paris (mg 600)

Barry Millington

Welsh National Opera

December 2020

Illustration, opposite page: York, St William's College, etching by E. Piper 1894.

January 2021 28–10

9–19

Essential South India (mh 630) Asoka Pugal..............................................14 Oman, Landscapes & Peoples (mg 620) Dr Peter Webb..........................................12 Mozart in Salzburg

February 2021 5–11 8–13 9–15 22– 1 24– 6

28– 7

The Ring in London Palaces & Villas of Rome Essential Rome Florence & Venice New Orleans to Natchitoches (mh 644) Professor Jeremy Black.............................20 Istanbul Revealed Opera in Nice & Monte Carlo The Ring in Dresden World Heritage Malta

March 2021 1–7 Art History of Venice 2–11 Israel & Palestine 8–14 The Art of Florence 9–17 Normans in the South 13–24 Morocco 15–24 Eastern Andalucía 16–20 Venetian Palaces 16–27 Indian Summer (mh 666)

Raaja Bhasin............................................16 18–24 Modern Art on the Côte d'Azur 26– 1 Gardens of the Riviera

Hamburg: Opera & 'Elphi'

Opera in Vienna

Dante 700: Heaven & Hell

in Italian Art & Manuscripts

Gastronomic Crete

Music & Ballet in Paris

April 2021 6–12 7–11 9–16 12–17 12–21 12–23 12–24 14–19 14–23 15–22 16–27 20–25 21–29

Romans in the Rhône Valley Ravenna & Urbino Gastronomic Andalucía Pompeii & Heculaneum Classical Turkey Art in Japan Civilisations of Sicily Liguria: the Italian Riviera Albania: Crossroads of Antiquity Gastronomic Provence Samarkand & Silk Road Cities Palladian Villas The Cathedrals of England

Gardens & Villas of the Italian Lakes Essential Jordan Gardens & Villas of Campagna Romana Opera in Berlin The Ring in Berlin Basilicata & Calabria Gastronomic Campania Madrid & Toledo Remote Uzbekistan: Buddhists, Sufis & Desert Castles

May 2021 5– 9 Châteaux of the Loire 6–15 Extremadura 6–17 Japanese Gardens 7–14 St Petersburg 8–17 Classical Greece 9–16 Courts of Northern Italy 10–18 Great Irish Houses 10–23 The Western Balkans 13–22 The Grand Duchy of Tuscany 14–25 Samarkand & Silk Road Cities 15–20 Modern Moscow 16–22 POLYPHONY IN PORTUGAL 17–24 Leipzig Mahler Festival 17–24 Footpaths of Umbria 17–26 Pilgrimage & Heresey 19–26 Iceland's Story 24–30 Moving On: Architecture

& Memory in Munich & Stuttgart 31– 8 Mitteldeutschland

Sailing the Dalmatian Coast

Prague Spring

Czech Modernism

Ballet in Copenhagen

Maritime England

Music in the Regions

Walking Hadrian's Wall

Wines of Southern England

Arts & Crafts in the Lake District

Dresden Music Festival

Lombardy: Gastronomy & Opera

Gastronomic Le Marche

Castles & Wildflowers in the Alentejo Lisbon

Two Spains: The Spanish Civil

War & its Aftermath

Connoisseur’s New York

June 2021 1– 8 1–12 4–15

5–12 11–18 11–19 12–19 14–21 14–22

Augustus to Charlemagne Walking to Santiago Frank Lloyd Wright (mh 777) Tom Abbott...............................................21 Medieval Burgundy Gastronomic Sweden Textile Collections in Russia with HALI The Venetian Terra Ferma Cave Art of France Medieval Saxony

Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

27

TOURS & EVENTS BY DATE

3 Ancient Greece (lg 602)

Anthony Spawforth 21–27 Vienna at Christmas (mg 614)

Dr Jarl Kremeier......................................... 4 21–27 Prague at Christmas (mg 613)

Professor Jan Smaczny

& Martina Hinks-Edwards....................... 5 21–27 Milan at Christmas (mg 615)

Dr Luca Leoncini........................................ 8 21–27 Siena at Christmas (mg 610)

Dr Michael Douglas-Scott......................... 9 21–27 Christmas in Holland (mg 617)

Dr Sophie Oosterwijk...............................11 21–28 Provence at Christmas (mg 612)

Dr Alexandra Gajewski............................. 7 21–28 Christmas in Western Sicily (mg 611)

Rowena Loverance...................................10 22–27 Paris at Christmas (mg 616)

Patrick Bade............................................... 6 27–2 Music in Berlin at New Year................... 8

Advent Choral Day

22–28 24– 2 26– 1

For 2021, dates are subject to change (except for tours that are available to book now), although most are unlikely to move by more than one or two days either side of what is printed below. Please call us to register your interest or e-mail alerts@ martinrandall.co.uk

Tours & events by date | 2021 preview

15–22

THE RHINE CRUISE: travel from Basel to Amsterdam on a comfortable cruise ship, with several specialist speakers and a range of visits and activities to choose from.

21–25 Medieval West Midlands 21–27 Connoisseur's Vienna 22–25 Dutch Painting 24– 2 Finland: Aalto & Others 28– 3 Wines of the Côte d'Or

The Schubertiade

Treasures of Moravia

MUSIC IN NORFOLK

Nevill Holt & Buxton Opera Brittany

The Leipzig Bach Festival

West Cork Chamber Music Festival

Gastronomic Asturias & Cantabria

Gardens & Landscapes

of the Dutch Wave

Ballet in St Petersburg

July 2021

5–11 French Gothic Danish Castles & Gardens The Baltic Countries Walking to Norfolk Houses Ryedale Music Festival Shakespeare & his World Savonlinna Opera Opera in Aix The Beaune Music Festival Opera in Munich & Bregenz Western Ireland Archaeology Gastronomic Friuli-Venezia Giulia Lofoten Chamber Music Festival Scottish Gardens Churches of Gotland

August 2021 TOURS & EVENTS BY DATE

15–20 18–25 20–27 20–27

King Ludwig II The Hanseatic League Walking the Danube MUSIC ALONG THE DANUBE The Schubertiade Summer Music in Austria Walking in Southern Bohemia The Age of Bede The Sibelius Festival Bavarian Organs Rossini in Pesaro Scotland: the Making of a Nation Ancient Shetland Drottningholm & Confidencen Opera in Santa Fe

September 2021

6–14 Moscow & St Petersburg 7–11 Champagne: vines, cellars and cuvées 10–21 Samarkand & Silk Road Cities 11–20 Classical Greece 12–19 Courts of Northern Italy 13–19 Lusatia: Germany’s

Eastern Borderlands 13–19 The Imperial Riviera 13–20 Gastronomic Galicia 13–25 Civilisations of Sicily 17–24 St Petersburg 19–26 Essential Puglia 20–27 The Heart of Italy 20–29 Castile & León 21–27 In Search of Alexander 22– 4 Galleries of the American Midwest 27– 2 Pompeii & Heculaneum 27– 4 Footpaths of Umbria 27– 4 Granada & Córdoba 27– 5 Aragón: Hidden Spain 29– 3 Ravenna & Urbino 30– 6 Gardens & Villas of the Italian Lakes

Sacred Armenia Bulgaria

At home at Weston Park

Walking in the Cotswolds

Literary England

Paris: New Architecture

Georgia Uncovered

Archaeological Crete

Design & Modernism in Turin & Milan

HANDEL IN VALLETTA

Peru: the Andean Heartland

Walking in Slovenia

Walking to Santiago

Swiss Modern

Turkey by Gulet

October 2021 4–11 Walking in Southern Tuscany 4–12 Palestine, Past & Present 4–16 Civilisations of Sicily 6–10 Ravenna & Urbino 6–10 Art in Madrid 6–15 Albania: Crossroads of Antiquity 7–11 The Venetian Hills 7–15 Berlin Potsdam Dresden 9–20 Morocco 11–16 Friuli-Venezia Giulia 11–24 The Western Balkans 12–17 Palladian Villas 12–21 Israel & Palestine 14–20 Modern Art on the Côte d'Azur 16–22 Gastronomic Piedmont 17–24 Court Centres of the Po Valley 18–28 Essential Andalucía 18–30 Civilisations of Sicily 22– 2 The Making of Argentina 23–31 Sardinia 23–31 Essential Jordan 25– 6 Traditions of Japan

1– 5 3– 5 6–12 6–13

Flemish Painting Medieval Art in Paris Verona & Lake Garda The Douro

28

book online at www.martinrandall.com

30– 9

Oman, Landscapes & Peoples Sailing the Dalmatian Coast North Cyprus & Israel Opera North Wexford Opera Houghton & Holkham Churchill and WW2 Versailles: Seat of the Sun King Hidden Gardens of Venice Opera in Naples & Rome Southern Sicily World Heritage Malta Dutch Country Houses Gastronomy & the Golden Age The Romans in Western Iberia Ancient & Islamic Tunisia Vietnam: History, People, Food...........18

November 2021 1– 8 2– 8 4– 7 8–15 8–19 9–13 10–14 16–23

The Art of Florence OPERA IN SOUTHERN SICILY Les Années Folles Gastronomic Sicily Art in Japan Venetian Palaces Florentine Palaces Medieval Rome Cambodia by River.............................. 17 Welsh National Opera

Fitness Ours are active holidays. We ask that everyone wishing to join a tour take the quick and simple self-assessment fitness tests described here. It is a condition of booking that you have passed these tests. (You do not have to pass the tests to attend music weekends and symposia in the UK.) 1: Chair stands. Sit in a dining chair, with arms folded and hands on opposite shoulders. Stand up and sit down at least eight times in thirty seconds.

2: Step test. Mark a wall at a height that is halfway between your knee and your hip bone.

Raise each knee in turn to the mark at least sixty times in two minutes.

3: Agility test. Place an object 3 yards from the edge of a chair, sit, and record the time it takes to stand up, walk to the object and sit back down. You should be able to do this in under seven seconds.

An additional indication of the fitness required is that you should be able to walk unaided at a pace of 3 miles per hour for at least half an hour at a time, and to stand unsupported for at least 30 minutes.

If you have a medical condition or a disability which may affect your holiday or necessitate special arrangements being made for you, please discuss these with us before booking – or, if the condition develops or changes subsequently, as soon as possible before departure.

BOOKING FORM TOUR NAME(S)

DATES

TOUR CODE(S)

NAME(S) – As you wish them to appear on the list of participants. We do not use titles unless included here.

Participant 1 Participant 2

CONTACT DETAILS – for all correspondence

ROOM TYPE ☐ Single occupancy room(s)

Address

☐ Double room (two sharing) ☐ Twin room (two sharing)

Postcode/Zip

Country

TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS

Mobile

☐ Group travel from London. (air or rail), if applicable to this tour.

Telephone (home)

☐ No travel. Making your own arrangements for travel to and from the destination.

Telephone (other – please specify) FELLOW TRAVELLER – if applicable E-mail For speed and efficiency, we provide your tour and reservation documents online, with an alert by e-mail. Your final itinerary is available to download c. 2 weeks prior to departure, with a hard copy provided on tour, or posted to a UK address. ☐ Please tick if you do NOT wish to receive documents online.

Please complete this section, even if you have told us your preferences before.

If you have made a booking for someone who does not share your address, please give their details here. We will then send them copies of all tour documents.

Please tick if you would like us to send them a separate invoice: ☐

Their name

How would you like to be kept informed about our future tours and events?

Brochures sent by post: ☐ Yes ☐ No

What prompted this booking? Please be as specific as possible – e.g. did you see an advertisement

Address

in a particular publication? Did you see the tour in our brochure? Or on our website?

FURTHER INFORMATION or special requests. Please mention dietary requirements, even if you have told us before.

Postcode/Zip Country E-mail Telephone

BOOKING FORM

E-newsletter: ☐ Yes

☐ No

PASSPORT DETAILS. Essential for airlines and in case of emergency on tour (not applicable for tours in the UK if you are a UK resident).

Title

Surname

Forenames

Nationality

Place of birth

1.

2.

Date of birth (dd/mm/yy)

Passport number

Place of issue

Date of issue (dd/mm/yy)

Date of expiry (dd/mm/yy)

1.

2.

NEXT OF KIN or contact in case of emergency.

Participant 1:

Participant 2 (unless the same as for participant 1):

Name

Name

Telephone

Telephone

Relation to you

Relation to you

PAYMENT

BOOKING FORM

We prefer payment by bank transfer, cheque or debit card. We also accept payment by credit card. All money paid to us is fully protected regardless of payment method. Please tick an option:

Please tick payment amount:

☐ BANK TRANSFER. Please give your surname and tour code (eg. MH123) only as a reference and ask your bank to allow for all charges.

☐ OR Full Payment. Required if you are booking within 10 weeks of departure.

Account name: Martin Randall Travel Ltd Bank: Handelsbanken, 2 Chiswick High Road, London W4 1TH

For transfers from UK (Sterling) bank accounts: Account number 8663 3438 • Sort code 40-51-62

Carbon offset donation. If you are taking a tour with flights and wish to make a donation to the India Solar Water Heating project, please tick an option below. Read about this project, and about our other sustainable tourism activities, by visiting martinrandall.com/sustainable-tourism.

For transfers from non-UK bank accounts: Please instruct your bank to send payment in pound sterling (GBP) IBAN: GB98 HAND 4051 6286 6334 38 Swift/BIC code: HAND GB22

☐ EITHER Deposit(s) amounting to 10% of your total booking cost.

☐ Add £5 per person for short-haul return flights ☐ Add £10 per person for mid- or long-haul return flights

☐ CHEQUE. I enclose a cheque payable to Martin Randall Travel Ltd – please write the tour code on the back (e.g. MH123).

TOTAL PAYMENT: £

☐ DEBIT OR CREDIT CARD. I authorise Martin Randall Travel to contact me by telephone to take payment from my Visa credit/Visa debit/Mastercard/AMEX.

Please sign and date below

I have read and agree to the Booking Conditions and Privacy Policy (www.martinrandall.com/privacy) on behalf of all listed on this form.

Signature: Date:

Martin Randall Travel Ltd Voysey House Barley Mow Passage London W4 4GF, United Kingdom

ATOL 3622 | ABTA Y6050 | AITO 5085

Tel +44 (0)20 8742 3355 info@martinrandall.co.uk www.martinrandall.com

Martin Randall Australasia PO Box 1024, Indooroopilly QLD 4068, Australia Tel 1300 55 95 95 New Zealand 0800 877 622 Fax +61 (0)7 3371 8288 anz@martinrandall.com.au

North America 1155 Connecticut Avenue NW Suite 300 Washington, DC 20036, USA Tel 1 800 988 6168 usa@martinrandall.com

MAKING A BOOKING 1. Optional booking. We recommend that you contact us first to make an optional booking which we will hold for seven days. To confirm it please send the booking form and deposit within this period – the deposit is 10% of your total booking price. Alternatively, make a definite booking straight away through our website.

2. Definite booking. Fill in the booking form and send it to us with the deposit. It is important that you read the Booking Conditions at this stage, and that you sign the booking form. Full payment is required if you are booking within ten weeks of departure.

3. Our confirmation. Upon receipt of the booking form and deposit we shall send you confirmation of your booking. After this your deposit is nonreturnable except in the special circumstances mentioned in the Booking Conditions. Further details about the tour may also be sent at this stage, or will follow shortly afterwards.

If visas are required we will advise UK citizens about obtaining them; nationals of other countries should ascertain whether visas are required in their case.

If you cancel. If you have to withdraw from a tour on which you had booked, there would be a charge which varies according to the period of notice you give. Up to 57 days before the tour the deposit would be forfeited. Thereafter a percentage of the total cost of the tour will be due: up to 57 days: deposit only between 56 and 29 days: 40% between 28 and 15 days: 60% between 14 days and 3 days: 80% within 48 hours: 100% If you cancel your booking in a double or twin room but are travelling with a companion who chooses to continue to participate in the tour, the companion would have to pay the single-occupancy price.

If you cancel a non-residential event (normally a London Day) we will return the full amount if you notify us 22 or more days before the event. We will retain 50% if cancellation is made within three weeks and 100% if within 3 days.

We take as the day of cancellation that on which we receive written confirmation of cancellation.

If we cancel the tour. We may decide to cancel a tour if there were insufficient bookings for it to be viable (though this would always be more than eight weeks before departure). We would refund you with everything you had paid us.

Safety and security. Cancellation may also occur if civil unrest, war, natural disaster or other circumstances amounting to force majeure arise in the region to which the tour was due to go. If the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against travel, we would either cancel or adjust the itinerary to avoid risky areas. We would also treat sympathetically a wish to withdraw from a tour to a troubled region even if the FCO does not advise against travel there.

Health and safety. We have a safety auditing process in place and, as a minimum, request that all of our suppliers comply with local health and safety regulations. However, we operate tours in parts of the world where standards are lower than those you are used to at home, particularly in the areas of accessibility, handrails and seatbelts. We ask that you take note of the safety information we provide.

The limits of our liabilities. As principal, we accept responsibility for all ingredients of a tour, except those in which the principle of force majeure prevails. Our obligations and responsibilities are also limited where international conventions apply in respect of air, sea or rail carriers, including the Warsaw Convention and its various updates.

If we make changes. Circumstances might arise which prevent us from operating a tour or event exactly as advertised. We would try to devise a satisfactory alternative, but if the change represents a significant loss to the tour we would offer compensation. If you decide to cancel because the alternative we offer is not in your view an adequate substitute, we would give a full refund.

Financial protection. Any money you have paid to us for a tour which includes an international flight is protected by our Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (ATOL, number 3622). Payments for tours which

do not include a flight from/to the UK are protected

by ABTA –The Travel Association. So, in the (highly unlikely) event of our insolvency in advance of the tour, you would get your money back, or if we failed after the tour had begun, the tour would be able to continue and you would be returned to the UK at its conclusion. Clients living elsewhere who have arranged their own flights should ensure their personal travel insurance covers repatriation in the event of holiday supplier failure.

BOOKING CONDITIONS

Financial protection: the official text. We are required to publish the following. We provide full financial protection for our package holidays which include international flights, by way of our Air Travel Organiser’s Licence number 3622.

When you buy an ATOL protected flight inclusive holiday from us you receive an ATOL Certificate. This lists what is financially protected, where you can get information on what this means for you and who to contact if things go wrong. Most of our flights and flight-inclusive holidays on our website and in our brochure are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. But ATOL protection does not apply to all holiday and travel services listed. Please ask us to confirm what protection may apply to your booking. If you do not receive an ATOL Certificate then the booking will not be ATOL protected. If you do receive an ATOL Certificate but all the parts of your trip are not listed on it, those parts will not be ATOL protected. In order to be protected under the ATOL scheme you need to be in the UK when you make your booking and/or one of the flights you take must originate or terminate in the UK with the group.

We provide full financial protection for our package holidays that do not include a flight, by way of a bond held

by ABTA The Travel Association.

We will provide you with the services listed on the ATOL Certificate (or a suitable alternative). In some cases, where we aren’t able do so for reasons of insolvency, an alternative ATOL holder may provide you with the services you have bought or a suitable alternative (at no extra cost to you). You agree to accept that in those circumstances the alternative ATOL holder will perform those obligations and you agree to pay any money outstanding to be paid by you under your contract to that alternative ATOL holder. However, you also agree that in some cases it will not be possible to appoint an alternative ATOL holder, in which case you will be entitled to make a claim under the ATOL scheme (or your credit card issuer where applicable). If we, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL certificate, are unable to provide the services listed (or a suitable alternative, through an alternative ATOL holder or otherwise) for reasons of insolvency, the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust may make a payment to (or confer a benefit on) you under the ATOL scheme. You agree that in return for such a payment or benefit you assign absolutely to those Trustees any claims which you have or may have arising out of or relating to the non-provision of the services, including any claim against us (or your credit card issuer where applicable). You also agree that any such claims maybe re-assigned to another body, if that other body has paid sums you have claimed under the ATOL scheme.

English Law. These conditions form part of your contract with Martin Randall Travel Ltd and are governed by English law. All proceedings shall be within the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

Privacy. By signing the booking form you are stating that you have read and agree to our Privacy Policy, which can be found online at www.martinrandall.com/privacy.

Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

31

BOOKING DETAILS & CONDITIONS

Please read these You need to sign your assent to these booking conditions on the booking form.

Our promises to you • We aim to be fair, reasonable and sympathetic in all our dealings with clients, and to act always with integrity.

• We will meet all our legal and regulatory responsibilities, usually going far beyond the minimum obligations.

• We aim to provide full and accurate information about our holidays. If there are changes, we will tell you promptly.

• If something does go wrong, we will try to put it right. Our overriding aim is to ensure that every client is satisfied with our services.

What we ask of you That you read the information we send to you.

Specific terms Our contract with you. From the time we receive your signed booking form and initial payment, a contract exists between you and Martin Randall Travel Ltd. Eligibility. You must be in good health and have a level of physical and mental fitness that would not impair other participants’ enjoyment by slowing them down or by absorbing disproportionate attention from the tour leaders. Please read ‘Fitness’ on page 28 and take the self-assessment tests described there; by signing the booking form you are stating that you have understood what we are asking of you and are fit to participate. If you have a medical condition or a disability which may affect your holiday or necessitate special arrangements being made for you, please discuss this with us before booking – or, if the condition develops or changes subsequently, as soon as possible before departure. If during the tour it transpires, in the judgement of the tour leaders, that you are not able to cope, you may be asked to opt out of certain visits or to leave the tour altogether. This would be at your own expense. We reserve the right to refuse to accept a booking without necessarily giving a reason.

Foreign Office advice. Before booking, please refer to the FCO website – www.fco.gov.uk – to ensure you understand the travel advice for the places to which the tour goes. Non-UK citizens should look at the advice issued by their governments, which may differ significantly.

Insurance. It is a requirement of booking that you have adequate holiday insurance cover. The insurance must cover, at minimum, medical treatment, repatriation, loss of property and loss of payments to us in the event that you cancel the tour. If you are making your own arrangements for international travel, please ensure you have insurance that protects you in the rare event of Martin Randall Travel cancelling the tour.

Experience indicates that free travel insurance offered by some credit card companies is not to be relied upon.

Passports and visas. British citizens must have valid passports for all tours outside the United Kingdom. The passport needs to be valid for six months beyond the date of the tour. In the event of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit, additional validity may be required.

Martin Randall Travel Ltd Voysey House Barley Mow Passage London W4 4GF United Kingdom Tel +44 (0)20 8742 3355 info@martinrandall.co.uk www.martinrandall.com Martin Randall Australasia PO Box 1024 Indooroopilly QLD 4068, Australia Telephone 1300 55 95 95 New Zealand 0800 877 622 Fax +61 (0)7 3371 8288 anz@martinrandall.com.au North America Martin Randall Travel Ltd 1155 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 300 Washington DC 20036 USA Telephone 1 800 988 6168 usa@martinrandall.com

Directors: Fiona Charrington (CEO), Alexa Berger (CFO), Sir Vernon Ellis (Chairman), Ian Hutchinson, Martin Randall, Neil Taylor | Registered office: Voysey House, Barley Mow Passage, London W4 4GF, UK | Registered Company no. 2314294. VAT no. 527758803.

Illustration: Turkish design, from 'The Grammar of Ornament' by Owen Jones, publ. 1865.

ATOL 3622 ABTA Y6050 AITO 5085 Best Special Interest Holiday Company | British Travel Awards 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.

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