Upcoming Tours and Excavations

The Shikhin Excavation Project is a multi-disciplinary, international, cultural heritage project and archaeological field school whose goal is the recovery, preservation, and publication of the site of Shikhin in the Lower Galilee of Israel.

The archaeology is done by volunteers from all over. No experience is necessary in order to participate. We train all volunteers in American excavation and recording methods.

Our lodging is at the Hotel Galilee in Nazareth. The Hotel Galilee is operated by long-time friends of the excavations and offers very comfortable rooms and exceptional dining. We eat our lunch and dinners at the Hotel and our breakfast in the field (packed by the Hotel and excavations staff). The cost of room, food, transportation in Israel, and weekend tours are all included in the excavation fee. We excavate 5 days per week from early in the morning until around 12:30 pm. After lunch at the Hotel and rest, we work together to record what we have recovered during the day's work. After dinner, there is a lecture and discussions. At the end of the excavation season, we all travel to Jerusalem for three nights before returning home.

After flying directly to Istanbul, we spend 5 nights and six days exploring this wonderful city with its many layers of history. We will visit the magnificent sixth century church, Hagia Sophia, the Blue Tile Mosque as well as the Mosque of Suleyman the Magnificent, the Dolmabache Palace, and the twelvth century church St. Saviour in Chora.  We will spend time in the Ottoman palace Topkapi and visit the enormous Grand Bazaar while taking time to enjoy modern Istanbul's cosmopolitan beauty, its famous Turkish baths and fabulous food.

We travel by bus and boat to the lands and seacoast of Western Turkey. In these lands made famous by the Trojan War as well as the sojourns of St. Paul, we visit the archaeological site of the  ancient city of Troy. We will also explore the well preserved Greco-Roman cities of Pergamon, Ephesus, Aphrodisias, and Hierapolis. We will also take time to enjoy the Pammukkale thermal baths before boarding a flight to return to the US.