Libya's Classical Ruins, 8 Nightsfrom £ 1695.00

It takes but a small leap of the imagination to visualise these ruins in their Roman heyday, such is the remarkable degree of preservation here.

Tour Overview

For those looking for antiquity with a hint of adventure, Libya has become a serious proposition, with some of the most complete and extensive classical remains to be found anywhere on the Mediterranean fringe, but without the crowds or commercialisation that can blight the famous European sites. As a developing tourist destination there are still some rough edges, but this is more than compensated for by the genuine warmth and friendliness of the local people and there is a real sense of travel and discovery here as opposed to merely following a well-worn tourist trail.

The centrepiece is undoubtedly Leptis Magna, a vast and astonishingly well-preserved site which takes two full days to explore completely. The city first rose to prominence in the 4th century BC and went on to rival Carthage and Alexandria as the greatest Roman city in Africa. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, there are a host of features to admire: triumphal arches, colonnaded streets, baths and temples, a huge amphitheatre and a beachside circus, as well as some recently discovered mosaics. To the west of Tripoli we will visit the Roman site of Sabratha with its magnificent theatre, mausoleum and basilicas while in the capital itself we will see the Marcus Aurelius Arch. From our base on the other side of the Gulf of Sirte we explore a stunning sequence of Greek, Roman and Byzantine remains that includes Tocra and Ptolémaïs, ancient cities set in timeless landscapes; Cyrene, with its temples, tombs and fountains, and its sea-port of Apollonia with a romantically situated theatre and Qasr Libya, where the Byzantine church holds an extraordinary early Christian mosaic.

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Tour Itinerary Back to top of page

Day 1
We depart this morning on our flight from London Heathrow to Tripoli (regional flight connections, flight upgrades and overnight accommodation before or after the tour available on request). On arrival we will be met by our local English-speaking guide and transfer by coach to our hotel in Tripoli. Dinner is served in the evening.

Day 2
Following breakfast we leave this morning for a visit to the important Roman site of Sabratha, which was developed as the port and outlet for a trade route running through Ghadames to Central Africa, with ivory, slaves and wild animals constituting the bulk of the traffic. Our visit will include the Mausoleum of Bes, discovered by Italian Antonio Di Vita in 1962 and dated back to the 2nd century BC; the South Forum Temple dated to 160 A and the Forum Basilica, which was the centre of the town’s social life and later transformed to a Christian Church. Further sites include the Anton Temple, dedicated to the joint Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the Basilica of Justinian and the Temple of Isis. The most notable building of Sabratha is the magnificent theatre, dated to 175-200 AD. Facing the semi-circular triple-tiered auditorium stands the great frons scenae, 25m high and composed of 108 Corinthian columns arranged in three stories, which follow the gentle curves of the free apses that contain the three doorways familiar from Roman Theatres all over the Empire. We return to our hotel in Tripoli, where dinner is served in the evening.

Day 3
Following breakfast we check out of our hotel and transfer to the airport for our domestic flight to Benghazi, Libya’s second city which developed during the oil boom of the 1960s. From there we will depart by coach for Tocra (also spelt as Tukra or Teucheira), which was founded by the Greeks around 510 BC but also features Roman ruins, a Byzantine church and a Turkish fort. Travelling through a scenic landscape of pine-clad valleys we continue to the ancient city of Ptolémaïs, which was founded in the 6th or 7th century BC as a Greek Colony, later falling to the Romans. In 365 AD Ptolémaïs survived the earthquake that destroyed the other main cities in Cyrenaica and rose to prominence, remaining as the capital of the Roman province until 428, when it was destroyed by the Vandals. However, thanks to a centuries-long covering of sand much has been preserved, including the Western Basilica, the Columned Palace, the Theatre and the underground Cisterns. We continue to the city of Apollonia, where accommodation has been arranged. Dinner is served on arrival.

Day 4
After breakfast this morning we visit the city of Cyrene, the oldest and most important of the five Greek cities in the region still known today as Cyrenaica, which lies in a lush valley in the Jebel Akhdar uplands. Cyrene was founded as a Greek colony by immigrants from the island of Thera (modern Santorini), led by King Battus I in 630 BC. It became the chief town of ancient Libya, kept up commercial relations with all the Greek cities, and reached the height of its prosperity under its own kings in the 5th century BC. Built on a series of levels, the spectacular ruins include the Sanctuary and Temple of Apollo, the Acropolis, the Agora, the Forum, the Stoa of Hermes and Heracles, the House of Jason Magnus, the Nine Muses and the Temple of Zeus.

We return to our hotel in Apollonia in the afternoon, with dinner served in the evening.

Day 5
Today we check out of the hotel and we will enjoy the resort of Apollonia, which for more than a thousand years served as the port for Cyrene. Among the monuments here are three churches, the Eastern, Western and Central Basilicas. Later we will stop briefly at Qasr Libya, where there is a museum containing a fine mosaics taken from a small church before transferring to Benghazi for our domestic flight back to Tripoli, and our accommodation. Dinner is served in the evening.

Day 6
This morning after breakfast we check out of the hotel and depart for the first of our visits to Leptis Magna, arguably the most extensive and best-preserved Roman city in the world. Originally a Phoenician settlement probably founded in the 6th century BC under the aegis of Carthage, Leptis Magna became a great metropolis under the Romans, particularly during the reign of Septimus Severus (193-211 AD), who was born in the city. Following the end of the Severan dynasty, with the assassination of Alexander Severus in the year 235 AD, the city fell into decline although a period of rejuvenation occurred under Diocletian and Constantine. When the Vandals conquered Tripolitania in the mid-5th century AD, it fell upon the Emperor Justinian to reclaim the land for Byzantium, which he achieved. In the 7th century, Tripolitania was conquered by the Arabs, and Leptis Magna never revisited its former glory.

Among the many sites we will see over our two days here are the Severan Arch, the Palaestra or Sports Ground, the Nymphaeum, the Hadrianic Baths, the Colonnaded Street, the Severan Forum, the Severan Basilica, the Theatre, the Harbour, the Circus, the Temple of Liber Pater, the Temple of Rome and Augustus, the Arch of Trajan, the Arch of Tiberius and the Market.
Following our visit we transfer to the nearby Hotel Severius, where dinner is served in the evening.

Day 7
Today we return to Leptis Magna to complete our exploration including visits to some of the outlying sites such as Circus, which has a spectacular location on the coast. With its vomitories, steps and terraced seating it is easy to draw a direct parallel between this ancient monument and today’s sports arenas – it seems the only things the Romans lacked were the electronic scoreboards and the instant replays!

Following our visit we return to our hotel in Tripoli, where dinner is served in the evening.

Day 8
After breakfast, we will have a tour of Tripoli, Libya’s present day capital. Although no vestiges of the original Phoenecian settlement of 500BC remain, there are traces of Roman times including the Arch of Marcus Aurelius (163 AD) constructed entirely of marble. We will also visit the impressive National Museum, located within Tripoli Castle, and the old medina, within which is a crossway notable for Roman pillars embedded in each corner building. The medina contains interesting souks and mosques and will give us a true flavour of present-day Libya in contrast to the archaeological wonders that we have seen.

Dinner is served in the evening.

Day 9
Following breakfast we have the morning free for shopping and sightseeing before transferring to the airport for our flight back to London Heathrow, where the group shall disperse or make their way to onward connections.

What's Included Back to top of page

8 nights accommodation in 3-star hotels on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis: 5 nights Tripoli, 2 nights in Apollonia and 1 night near Leptis Magna
Return flights from London to Tripoli. Regional flight connections, flight upgrades and overnight accommodation before or after the tour available at a reasonable supplement.
Internal flights between Tripoli and Benghazi
Comfortable coaching throughout
Visits to the archaeological sites at Sabratha, Leptis Magna, Tocra, Ptolémaïs, Cyrene, Apollonia and Qasr Libya
Services of a Brightwater Holidays tour manager and local guides

Supplements Per Person Back to top of page

Single room supplement     £200.00
Insurance
Arabic Translation of passport
Visa
Regional flight connections, flight upgrades and overnight accommodation before or after the tour available on request

Departure Points Back to top of page

London Heathrow

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