Apollo International Hotel

Constantinople and Istanbul, two names for one city. One city straddling Europe and Asia: Byzantine imperial capital for 1000 years then capital city of the Ottoman Turks.

Minarets and domes of Turkish mosques dominate the skyline, the waters of the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus lap its shores, and a stroll through the streets reveals the city's diverse and magnificent heritage.

Byzantine churches with colourful mosaics, Ottoman mosques with beautiful tilework, the luxurious palaces of the sultans, elegant fountains, bathhouses and bustling covered markets make Istanbul one of the most fascinating cities in the world.

There will be two lectures From Constantine to Conquest: The Byzantine City and The Ottoman City with a break for morning tea.

These lectures delivers a single narrative covering the history of the 50 jewelled Fabergé Imperial Easter Eggs from the first egg in 1885 to their current whereabouts.  The eggs illustrate the attitudes that would ultimately lead to the downfall of the Romanovs: their apparent indifference to the poverty that choked their country; their preference for style over substance and their all-consuming concern with the health of the sickly heir – a preoccupation that would propel them toward Rasputin and the doom of the dynasty.  

After the Revolution, the eggs embarked on a journey that included embattled Bolsheviks, acquisitive members of the British royal family, eccentric salesmen, and famous business and society figures.  Now, the interest of Russian oligarchs means that their story is turning full circle, as the eggs begin to return to Russia.  Finally, there is the emergence of new information, as researchers delve into the Kremlin archives, in particular to piece together the designs and possible fates of the seven missing eggs. 

There will be two lectures with a break for morning tea.