The People Behind Desert Discoveries

Antonia Willis

Antonia is the founding director of Desert Discoveries, and is the main guide for all Desert Discoveries Jordanian desert tours. Antonia has been fascinated by the history and wild landscapes of Jordan since her first visit to the Hashemite Kingdom, after which she took an MA degree in the archaeology of the Levant at London's Institute of Archaeology. She has a passionate interest in the archaeology of Jordan, and is currently working to extend Desert Discoveries forays to follow the ancient trade routes into north east Africa and The Kingdom of Saudi Arbia.

"Gertrude Bell wrote that she was "homesick for the desert", and I have learnt what she meant. I believe that those who make this journey with us through time and landscape will go home feeling in some strange and inexplicable way that they belong in a remote part of the Arabian deserts."

Diana Beatty

Diana has also taken an MA at London's Institure of Archaeology, specializing in the Bronze Age; the lost Cities of the Plain of biblical fame are from this epoch, clustered round the southern edges of the Dead Sea. Diana has a particular interest in the problems and possibilities inherent in the relationship between tourism, museums and conservation of sites and fund-raising for archaeological exploration.

"The traveller doesn't have to be a tourist. Real travel is not about movement, but being in the place, letting its particular character and past inform and educate. To understand the landscape, its quality and its past, is to inform ourselves of something essential and relevant to us now."

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