Classic Libya ~ 8 Days - Tripoli / Benghazi / Albyda / Cyrene / Zliten / Leptis Magna

Now is the time to visit this recently reopened destination!  Marvel at the fascinating Roman, Greek and Byzantine sites then experience the contrast of the mighty Sahara desert.

There is now a steady stream of intrepid travellers visting Libya. For those in the know, there is absolutely no surprise in this: the outstanding Classical ruins and breath-taking desert scenery have long been one of the worst-kept secrets of the travelling world.

On our Classic Libya holiday the must-sees in Libya are the Classical cities: Leptis Magna, Sabratha, and those of Cyrenaica. Leptis and Sabratha are easily visited from Tripoli. This has the added advantage of allowing you to explore the Libyan capital as well. Over to the east Cyrene, Ptolomais and Apollonia are close enough to also be visited from a central base, once you have made the journey from Tripoli. A trip down to the ancient Saharan trading town of Ghadames, passing through the indigenous Berber heartlands, completes your tour and will add to your understanding of the country.

Holiday itinerary

Day 1 : Tripoli Arrival
Arrival at Tripoli airport, meeting, and assistance and transfer to Tripoli drive to the hotel Alkabir - Babalbaher or Almehari. 

Day 2 : Tripoli
Tour the sights of Tripoli, including the Jamahiriya Museum. 

Day 3 : Tripoli - Sabratha - Benghazi 
Departure to Sabratha which was selected as an Emporium, or trading post, by the Phoenician merchant Sabratha holds one of the magnificent and interesting Roman Theatre and one of the most splendid mosaics of the Byzantine period.

Sabratha as we see it nowadays is first and foremost a creation of the Roman genius for building cities. The Romans developed the commercial potential of Sabratha by using the port as an outlet for a trade route running through Ghadames to Central Africa. Ivory, slaves and wiled animals constituted the bulk of this traffic.

Our visit will include; Mausoleum of Bes, discovered by the Italian Antonio di Vita as late as 1962 and dated back to the 2nd Century B.C, to the South Forum Temple dated to 160 A.D, to the Basilica of Apoleius known as the Forum Basilica transformed in Christian church, continuing with; Forum the center of the social life, the Antonine Temple built in 90- 95 dedicated to the joint Emperor Marcus Aurelius and touring the Site to include the Basilica of Justinian, to the Curia, the Baths, the Temple of Isis, sunrise and sunset at Sabratha are solitary, bewitching, stop for lunch.

Without watchmen, without tourists, the city breathes deeply and one respects the stillness, finishing with the mite of Sabratha’s Theatre the most notable Roman building of Sabratha dated to 175-200 A.D; facing the semi-circular triple-tiered auditorium stands the great scaenae frons, 25 m high and composed of 108 Corinthian columns arranged in three storey which follow the gentle curves of the free apses that contain the three doorways familiar from Roman Theatres all over the Empire, transfer to the airport dinner in the airport restaurant, flight to Benghazi overnight in Tibesti hotel. 

Day 4 : Benghazi - Ptolemais - Qaser Libya - Albyda 
Breakfast, departure to Ptolemais; the city was founded in the 3rd century B.C and was a port for the City of Barce, Ptolemais became capital of the province of Libya Superior in the time of Diocltian and Capital of the Pentapolis around the 5th century A.D.

The Site present itself in a very modest way, however its very interesting and romantic, we start our visit with the Museum which host some of Ptolemais monuments like the 4 season mosaic and the fountain of the 8 dancing Menadi, move to the site where we find the remains of the Arch of Constantine 311-312 A.D , the Columns Palace the most famous building in Ptolemais dated between the 2nd –1st century B.C with an area of 37x164 m (6000 sq m ) from which you already admired the mosaic of the Medusa during your visit to the Museum.

Continue towards the great cisterns a big complex of 15 cisterns; 4 to the north, 4 to the south, 3 on the west, 3 to the east and one central,6 m deep and 5 million 4 hundred thousand cubic m of water which arrives through a channel 25 km away from the city, finish of the visit, lunch at the Site restaurant.

Drive to Qaser Libya, known a the Old Olbia as it had been referred to in the Sinesio ( Bishop of Cyrene ) letters in the 5th century A.D and was the residence of its bishop. It has two Churches of a great religious interest. The western known for its extraordinary architecture and the eastern for its splendid 50 mosaics pieces ( they originally came from the floor of the western Basilica and depict a wide and interesting range of subject, the panels are in a beautiful condition and one of them depicts the only existing representation of the Pharos – Lighthouse os Alexandria – one of the seven a wonders of the ancient World ) later in the Turkish period the eastern Church has been transformed into a fort, continue to Albyda city dinner and overnight in the hotel Qaser Albayda - Aia or Alloloa.   

Day 5 : Albyda - Cyrene - Apollonia - Benghazi 
Breakfast, departure for the excursion of the City of Cyrene; the history of the founding as a Greek immigrants from the Island ( modern Santorin ) has been handed to us as a mixture of legend and historical tradition.

The date to this event is 631 B.C. king Battus the First ruled for 40 years over his tiny immigrant community wisely and moderately, Cyrene has been through different eras from the Republican era 414 B.C to Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic rulers 332 B.C, to the Romans,96 B.C to the Byzantine since the late 324 A.D and finally to the Arab invasion in 635 A.D .Some of Cyrene famous Men are Synesius 370-413 a member of a cyrenean family and was an ambassador to Constantinopole and proclaimed Bishop of Ptolemais in 410A.D, the excavation of both Apollonia and Cyrene started by Lemaire in 1705, and the ruins visible before excavation began were documented by Beechey in 1822 and by Pacho in 1824.

Visiting Cyrene; The Forum and Agora, the Forum of Proculus or Caesareum a great rectangular enclosure with internal porticoes, the original function of this building is still matter of dispute. The Agora which host many of Cyrene remains as the Naval Monument, the Capitolium and most important the Tomb of Battus the Founder of the City. The Acropolis Hill which still yet to be excavated, continue downhill to visit the Fountain and the Sanctuary of Apollo, which were for most their history, distinct zones.

The Fountain of Apollo was the prime cause of the City’s foundation on this site, and was linked in legend, with the nymph Kura or Kurana a Greek maiden, whom Apollo wooed and brought to Libya as his pride, the fountain is a torrent of water emerging from cavern’s mouth on the upper terrace.

The true spring lies at the end of 300 yards tunnel, in the heart of the hillside, on the left hand side of the fountain 5 circular Byzantine lime-kilns which consumed many of the pagan statues., moving down here is the mighty Sanctuary of Apollo its Greek and Roman Propylea, inside the sanctuary we find the Temple of Apollo the most important monument which incorporate the remains of three buildings. The sanctuary also includes the temple of Jason Magnus, the fountain of Cyrene, semi-circular construction surmounted by a statue of the nymph strangling a lion, the Temple of Isis in which a statue of the Egyptian goddess has been found and the Grotto of the Priests, in the same area there also the Greek Theatre transformed by the Roman in an Amphitheatre.

Then we move to the Great Temple of Zeus - alongside the Necropolis of Cyrene one of the most extensive cemeteries in the ancient world, and covers many square miles. The visible multiple grave tombs number over 1200 and there are also several thousand of sarcophagi – the largest temple of Cyrene. It is an Octostyle building of gigantic dimension slightly larger than the Parthenon of Athens and the temple of Zeus at Olympia constructed in an archaic Doric style around the 6th century B.C. stop for lunch, afternoon excursion to Apollonia.

Ancient Apollonia, which was Cyrene’s port for a thousand years and its ruins form an essential part of the whole archeological complex, originally constructed by the Greeks when they began to develop their naval merchant fleets, modern Sousa was founded in 1897as a colony of Muslim refugees from Crete and there is a decindely non African strain apparent in its population. It was extensively rebuilt in the Italian occupation as a port for a coastal shipping.

The first important monument to be encountered is the Extra-Mural Church, only a corner of the outer walls of this church is visible. The church is remarkable for the traces of a triple apse – Triconchos- surviving in the cactus garden at its east end, the Hellenistic City Walls of Apollonia are well preserved through their landward course, continue toward The Theatre which lies immediately outside the eastern rampart, it is of a Greek type and of Hellenistic date; but it was remodeled under the Emperor Domitian 92-96 A.D, another monuments are the three churches Western, eastern and Central built around the 6th century. We conclude our visit with the Museum which include some of the area’s heritage, drive to Benghazi dinner and overnight in Tibesti or Ouzo hotel.

Day 6 : Benghazi - Zliten 
Breakfast, full day transfer to Zliten along the coast bypassing the gulf of Sirte, making interesting stops along the way, lunch en route, late afternoon arrival, dinner and overnight in Zliten hotel.

Day 7 : Zliten - Leptis Magna - Tripoli
Breakfast, departure to Leptis Magna, one of the best-preserved cities of antiquity. It was founded by Phoenician merchants around the beginning of the first millennium B.C. The great Emperor Severus born in Leptis in 145 AD turned his attention to his native city making substantial changes which every visitor could witness.

The visit starts with the Arch of Septimius Severus standing at the beginning of the main north-south street the the Cardo Maximus, where this intersects the east west street the Decumanus Maximus, dedicated to the Severus built in 203 A.D to celebrate the arrival of the great Emperor, to the Palestra a place for sports and games which is parallel to the Baths of Hadrian built in 126-127, remodeled in the time of the Emperor Commodus 180-192, continue to the Nymphaeum and the Street of Colonnades, built under Severus and dedicated to the nymphs, it is a semicircular construction containing a pool and fountain, and surrounded by walls, to the Severus Forum and the adjoining Basilica which are the major extant large-scale buildings in Leptis, to the Harbour which was originally the natural mouth of the Leptis vally, sheltered from the sea by rocks to the north and east, continue with the Old Forum which dated to the beginning of the imperial era . in the northern corner of the forum are the remains of tiles from the time of the Emperor Augustus 30 B.C – 14 A.D during the governorship of Calpurnius.

Stop for lunch, continue the visit with the Museum and finally with the Amphitheatre built in the period of Nero around the year 56 A.D on a natural slope of soft sandstone. It was renovated and enlarged in the 2nd century A.D and again under the Severus. Near the Amphitheatre was a small temple of the famous Artimes, or Diana, of Ephesus in Western Asia. Drive to Tripoli dinner, overnight Babalbaher - Alkabir or Almehari hotel.

Day 8 : Tripoli - Departure
Breakfast, transfer to the airport departure to home destination.