Modern students travel ancient lands

Egypt and Greece will be the destination for two upcoming study tours for Cal State Long Beach students beginning on May 15.

This is the first year that CSULB has participated in the 14-year-old program sponsored by the Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

Art History Professor Ginger da Costa is one of six professors from various universities leading the tour and is the only one from CSULB.

Accompanying them will be Egyptologist Ihab Shaarawi, who is a native of Cairo, Egypt.

Shaarawi has extensive archaeological field experience and will be a great asset to have as part of the group, according to da Costa.

It's really nice to meet someone who lives there and is totally fluent in Arabic," da Costa said. "I've traveled alone in Turkey. I've traveled alone in Greece and other places, but I don't think I'd do it in Egypt. It's just harder to get around. It's a lot easier if you have someone who knows what's going on."

The first tour, "Rethinking the Legacy of Ancient Egypt," explores the contributions of ancient Egypt to western civilization in philosophy, religion, architecture, art, politics and military strategy.

The second tour begins on May 27, the day after the Egyptian tour ends, and is similarly titled, "Rethinking the Legacy of Ancient Greece."

"The statement is 'rethinking the legacy' in terms of our western culture," da Costa said. "We're always seeing things from a western perspective. Now, [society] is focusing on internationalism and global consciousness."

The Greek trip will pick up where the Egypt tour ended, so there will be a smooth and logical historical transition for anyone signing up for both tours.

"Students will have the opportunity to participate in a lot of things: Go to Delphi and consult the Oracle, go to Olympia where they can actually run in the stadium that Olympic runners have run."

Da Costa did just that a couple of years ago on a hot August afternoon.

"I did it just to say that I did it," da Costa said, "and I was dying at the end of it. But we got a chance to see what that felt like to go through the tunnel that the athletes would go through, and to imagine the crowds on either side rooting for their teams. It's totally reliving history and then putting it in to a modern context."

It is this kind of participation and interaction that makes da Costa believe this will be a worthwhile experience.

Da Costa taught art history part time at UC Riverside and UC Santa Barbara before coming to CSULB two years ago. She spent her summers doing research in Turkey, Greece, Syria and Jordan.

"I haven't led or been responsible for this particular type of trip before," da Costa said. "Eventually, I would like to take students out to Turkey, as I have traveled pretty extensively there, but I think I'll get my feet wet [with this trip]."

Students will receive two to three transferable units for each tour in art, art history, philosophy, archaeology, or history of architecture from the University of Southern Illinois.

The tours of Egypt and Greece are not restricted to students. Anyone is welcome to join but minors must be accompanied by an adult.

"It's an intense program, especially the first four nights in Cairo," da Costa said. "We'll be pretty busy all the time and it's where students get a chance to really know the professors on the trip. We're on an equal basis with them. We eat together and we stay in the same hotels together so we're always accessible."

"But that's what I like doing with my students," da Costa added. "You certainly learn a lot more. It's not like sitting in a lecture hall and falling asleep because we're going to be right there."

In addition to visiting hundreds of sites along the Nile River, the group will be recreating an archaeological dig and re-enacting a mummification ritual.

"We'll make amulets and recite the proper rituals just to see what it was like in ancient Egypt," da Costa said. They will also visit a village outside of Cairo where they will dress up in costume and perform well-known scenes from literature.

"Things will ease up by the time we get to Luxor," da Costa said. "I'll take them shopping and we can do fun things Ñ sail rides, camel trips or seeing extra sites Ñ so it's not totally regimented.

"This is the most well-organized study tour that I've encountered," da Costa said, "and to be with that many professors is really a bonus. [The students] will get more individual attention so they won't just feel like they're being herded from one site to the other. I think those students who go will take back with them some amazing memories."

The official deadline to register with a $250 deposit is March 15, but that will be waived with no late penalty as long as there is space available.

The cost of the Egyptian tour, May 15 to 27, is $2,665 plus $990 round-trip air fare. The Grecian tour, May 27 to June 13, is $2,590 plus $920 round-trip air fare.

Information and brochures may be obtained by calling Dr. Ginger da Costa at (562) 985-5510, visiting her office in FO4-250, or by viewing the program's World Wide Web site at http://www.siu.edu/~nmc/hahn/origins.html.