Cross and Crescent in the Middle Ages
        Turkey, Syria, Tunisia, Spain

An escorted luxury tour by The Captain’s Tour,
- designed by Anthony Pritchard

      Haghia Sophia, Istanbul      Great Mosque of Cordoba

Visit the fabled and mythical places of Istanbul, Aleppo, Damascus, Tunis, Kairouan, Tozeur, Granada, Cordoba, Seville and others, destinations with a deep and fascinating history, places that have witnessed the collisions of armies and the coexistence of religious faiths. The tour provides an opportunity for learning, sight-seeing and adventure.

The Cross and Crescent tour is a new addition to The Captain’s Choice portfolio of absorbing luxury tours to remote and exotic locations. This is the first Captain’s Choice tour that is based heavily on a theme (understanding why conflict and/or coexistence between Christianity and Islam in the Middle Ages affects life in the 21st Century).

The Captain’s Choice Tour is the leader in luxury escorted tours and full details about this tour and all their other tours are available at www.captainschoice.com.au

The ‘clash of civilisations’, is usually taken to mean that people's cultural and religious identities will be the primary source of conflict in the immediate times ahead. During our travels we will look primarily at the relationship between two of the major faiths, Christianity and Islam, and their relationship in the Middle Ages, approximately 500 -1500 AD, the outcomes of which may well have fashioned current attitudes, prejudices and actions.

The renowned scholar of Islam, Bernard Lewis, has said: “Islam has brought comfort and peace of mind to countless millions of men and women. It has given dignity and meaning to drab and impoverished lives. It has taught people of different races to live in brotherhood and people of different creeds to live side by side in reasonable tolerance. It inspired a great civilisation in which others besides Muslims lived creative and useful lives and which, by its achievement, enriched the whole world. But Islam, like other religions, has also known periods when it inspired in some of its followers a mood of hatred and violence.”

By visiting some of the major locations around the Mediterranean where Christianity and Islam coexisted and/or came into conflict we can perhaps better understand the issues and their (lasting) effects.

By the end of the 24 day tour we might, hopefully, have some answers to the following questions:

  • Christianity and Islam had their origins as persecuted minorities but grew to be powerful over time. What circumstances might allow for an increase in harmony and a decrease in violence between these faiths?

  • ‘Clash of civilisations’ is a strong and threatening concept. Having absorbed something of the history of the Middle Ages, and comparing past with current events, do you think the term is valid, and if so, what expectations – and hopes - do you have for the future?

An illustrated detailed discussion about the places to be visited during the tour, outlining some of the relevant historical developments of the area and listing some of the major questions which might be considered when visiting each of these places.
This is 19 page PDF which can be read on line by clicking here