Cardiff

Lincoln (Roman)

I already have a page for Lincoln but since that time I only dealt with the medieval sections (ie: the cathedral and castle) while this time I saw the Roman bits I felt that they could be safely divided in two. After all, that trip was almost two years ago.

Wroxeter

 
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Pompeii

COMING SOON

Marine Gate

Chichester

We were only at Chichester for a very short time on the way to the train station. From what little I had time to see it seemed like a very nice city. The cathedral was grand and right near the main market square. The wall surrounding the cathedral and gardens is the old Roman wall. There was a turret somewhere as well but I couldn't find it. The wall is very similar to that at Portchester being built primarily out of flint.

Bath

COMING SOON

Pont Du Gard

COMING SOON

Bethlehem

I was only in Bethlehem for a short time and I never really got out of the car. I got fleeced by an Israeli couple who ended up making 500 shekels off me. The original offer was 400 to get me to Tel Aviv where I would spend the day, and then they would drop me off at the airport. That would have been worth it. Then he basically insisted on taking me to Bethlehem (because I'm American and therefore a devout Christian) spouting a lot of nonsense about how he was one of the only ones who could get me through. While it is true that you can't pass through on foot, getting there is not as difficult as he made out. Certainly not for a white American who just screams tourist. After getting there (and not stopping since he said it was too busy for me to get into any of the churches) we went back where I found that the price had doubled. Doubled for a ten minute stop over! I was utterly disgusted. I had to say to screw Tel Aviv and just have them drop me off at the airport for 500 shekels. Worse than that he wanted me to be happy about it. I was sitting in the back seat fuming quietly and he told me to be friendly because I got a great deal. I can handle being fleeced, but I draw the line at having people tell me I should be thankful for it. I may have gotten ripped off in Jordan but at least there it was only business. I wasn't expected to like it. Which made this an absolutely rotten end to an excellent trip.

Nazareth

COMING SOON
After all the wonderful places I have been Nazareth was a huge disappointment. There is really nothing there worth seeing. I'd have been better off going to Tiberias and seeing the Sea of Galilee.

Masada

COMING SOON

Qumran

COMING SOON

Jerusalem

COMING SOON

Jerusalem is amazing. Full stop. I think that it is the single most amazing place that I have ever been. It certainly gives Petra a run for its money. While Petra is all about the glory of the desert and the abandoned monuments, Jerusalem is very much a living city. There is nowhere I've been that can compare to it. And I got to spend most of a week there. Yes!

York

Modern York is an amazing city. Much of the city is old and feels it, with a complete set of city walls and an array of medieval buildings. It has the largest cathedral in England and the second largest in Northern Europe. The shopping center is a really nice section of town lined with stores and generally a market in the square. It is a very popular shopping destination. There is a Roman bath located beneath one of the pubs (helpfully called The Roman Bath) but they charge for admittance and there isn't much there.
There is very little left of Roman York. It was originally one of the civitas capitals of Britian under the name of Eboracum. It was also known as Jorvik during the Viking era and there is the excellent (but overpriced and busy) Jorvik Centre to see there. As for Eboracum there is a section of wall left as well as a few artifacts in the museum. The centre of Eboracum was located where Yorkminster Cathedral is now. The Normans liked to build Cathedrals on sites of importance since that helped associate their buildings with the prestige and importance of the old ones.

Manchester

 

There is very little in Manchester of a Classical nature since it is in most respects a very modern city. The whole city seems to be made of brick and feels very industrial Victorian. However there is the very nicely reconstructed Roman fort of Mamucium located in Castlefield, one of the nicer areas in the south-west part of town.

London and the British Museum

Since my year began in London it makes sense to start there. London is a pretty amazing city. Its history spans at least 2,000 years to the creation of Londinium by the Romans. There isn't much left from those times. Fortunately, London itself has a number of amazing places to visit. From the Tower of London to Buckingham Palace to Big Ben... The number of recognizable landmarks is endless! Unfortunately, I missed most of them. Perhaps I'll go back at a later date but for now all I've seen is Trafalgar Square and the exteriors of a lot of buildings. And the British Museum but I'll get back to that.
So what is there in London that would interest a Classics student?

Londinium Walls