Barbara Porter has led numerous archaeological tours from Algeria to Iran, bringing decades of scholarly expertise and passion for the ancient Middle East to every journey. Her distinguished career includes serving as Director of the American Center of Oriental Research (ACOR) in Jordan from 2006 to 2020, where she facilitated groundbreaking archaeological research and cultural preservation initiatives.

Barbara received her A.B. from Bryn Mawr College and earned her M.A., M.Phil., and Ph.D. from Columbia University's prestigious Department of Art History & Archaeology. Her doctoral dissertation focused on cylinder seals from Syria from the Middle Bronze Age, establishing her as an expert in ancient Near Eastern material culture and iconography.

From 1978 to 1983, Barbara served on the curatorial staff of the Egyptian Art Department at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. She then advanced to Assistant Curator of Ancient Near Eastern Art at the Met from 1983 to 1986, where she lectured frequently in the galleries, often focusing on Assyrian art. Her ability to bring ancient civilizations to life through engaging interpretation made her a sought-after gallery lecturer and educator.

In the 1990s, Barbara taught in the Art History Department of New York University, sharing her extensive knowledge with the next generation of archaeologists and art historians. Her teaching combined rigorous academic scholarship with accessible storytelling, a skill that serves her well in leading educational tours.

Barbara's deep connection to the Middle East stems from her formative years growing up in Lebanon from 1965 to 1970. This early immersion in the region's cultures, languages, and landscapes sparked a lifelong fascination that would shape her career. In the 1980s, she participated in two seasons of excavation in northeastern Syria at the significant archaeological site of Tell Leilan, contributing to our understanding of early urban civilization in Mesopotamia.

Her fieldwork experience extends beyond Syria to include archaeological projects in Austria, England, Italy, and Jordan, giving her a comparative perspective on ancient cultures across the Mediterranean and Near East. This breadth of experience enables her to contextualize sites within broader patterns of cultural exchange and historical development.

An interesting personal connection: Barbara's twin sister has been involved with the British Institute for the Study of Iraq (formerly the British School of Archaeology in Iraq) since 2000, and often accompanies tours to Iraq and Kurdistan, adding another dimension of expertise to these journeys.