Classical Libya

You will enjoy travelling around Libya arriving Tripoli, visiting Benghazi Ptolemais, Qasr Libya, Apolonia, Cyrene, Leptis Magna, Nalut and other. Have a fantastic time exploring the ruins of Qasr al Ghoul (Castle of the Ghost).

Tour Description

DAY 1 : ARRIVAL

Upon arrival in Tripoli, you will be met and assisted and then transferred to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

DAY 2 :TRIPOLI/BENGHAZi

After breakfast . you will start Your first exploration of Libya through its capital city: Tripoli. a full day of sightseeing which will include the old city, Italian quarter and the National Museum, which is famous for the quantity and quality of the artifacts on display and covers several millennia of Libyan and North African history, culture, and art. Guided tour to the monuments of the medina including the arch of Marcus Aurelius, the Gurgi mosque and the saint marry church. lunch in the medina then walking through the Italian quarter of Tripoli and then the calm traditional souk .dinner , transfer to the airport .flight to Benghazi and over night.

DAY 3:BENGHAZI /PTOLEMAIS/QASR LIBYA/APOLONIA

From Libya’s second city drive up into the hills towards the magnificent archaeological Greek remains of Ptolemaist founded by the Greeks flourished during the Hellenistic and roman era, the site's high lights are the famous water cisterns , the villa of the columns which its amazing mosaics are at the small museum at the entrance to the site. lunch at Ptolemaist then short drive to quasar Libya which is a small museum contains 50 panels of Byzantine mosaics, the most attractive panel is the one which illustrates the only one evidence of the light house of Alexandria one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. Drive to apollonia through the beautiful panorama of the green mountain. Dinner and over night in apollonia or albayda.

DAY 4:APOLONIA/RAS ALHILAL/LATRUN

After the break fast a visit to the attractive ruins of apollonia which was cyrene`s main port for so many centuries. in the 6th century A.D under the Byzantine rule it became the capital of whole region( Pent polis) .the visit of site will include the 3 basilicas, the roman baths the governor's palace and the over looking the sea theatre .lunch in apollonia .in the after noon drive east wards to discover a small beautiful village called latrun famous of its basilica recently restored by the French archeologists ,in the way back to apollonia stop at Ras Alhilal which has a small basilica, with well preserved mosaics. return to apollonian for dinner and overnight.

DAY 5:CYRENE/BENGHAZI/TRIPOLI

After the breakfast short drive to discover the best preserved Greek site in Libya .cyrene which was founded by the Greeks in 631.B.C HERODUTS told that 200 immigrants came from the island of Thera the modern santorini. The golden age of cyrene was during the Hellenistic period thanks to the agriculture and the maritime trade with the other Greek ports. it was declined by the earthquake of 365.A.DThe visit will start of a massive temple dedicated to Zeus the father of the gods it is compared only to the Parthenon of Athens. Close to the temple is situated to museum of cyrene which hosts a wonderful collection of statues among them the one of Alexander the great, The visit will continue to the site including the impressive gymnasium .the house of Jason mangos .the agora and the sanctuary of Apollo. Lunch in cyrene, drive back to Benghazi .transfer to the airport. flight to Tripoli dinner and over night.

DAY 6:TRIPOLI/SABRATA/TRIPOLi

After the break fast. drive to Sabratha(70km west of Tripoli), it was one of the TRIPOLIS or the three cities, the other two are leptis magna and Oea the modern Tripoli .it was originally a Phoenician trading port, it eventually came under Roman control which was its splendidus era thanks to the trans Sahara and maritime trade. Spend time amongst the ruins discovering its monuments like the roman forum the bath complex with its wonderful mosaics and its spectacular theatre .lunch at the entrance to the site then admire the best quality of Byzantine mosaics preserved at the small museum .drive back to Tripoli ,dinner and over night.

DAY 7:TRIPOLI/LEPTIS MAGNA /TRIPOLI

Full-day excursion to Leptis Magna . Drive 125Km east of TRIPOLI to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Leptis Magna; regarded as the best Roman site in the Mediterranean. The city was originally a Phoenician port, settled during the first millennium BC. Slaves, gold, ivory and precious metals brought it great wealth, which was supplemented by the rich agricultural land surrounding it. Roman legions ousted the Carthaginians following the third Punic War, after that city was flourished and it was the native city of the 1st roman emperor of African origins SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS.. the sands had preserved the ruins remarkably well. Such as the Severan arch , the Hadrianic bath, the new forum ,the Punic market and roman theatre. Lunch at a local restaurant. Then visiting the out lying monuments of leptis like the harbor the amphitheatre and the race course (circus) .drive back to Tripoli. Dinner and over night.

DAY 8:TRIPOLI/NALUT/GHADAMIS

After the breakfast departure for ghadamis(650KM) a crossing Nafusa mountain chain in which they still live the Berbers the indigenous inhabitants of Libya stop at Nalut which is one the top of the mountain to see the Berber village and the impressive KASR (granary)it was used as a storage for the cereals and as a fortress to defend the Berbers from the enemies. Lunch in a small town near by Nalut then drive to ghadamis passing through the internal oasis of Sinawn and Dirj. Arrival in ghadamis late afternoon, dinner and over night .

DAY 9:GHADAMIS

Break fast in the hotel then a visit to the small museum then walk through the ancient section of Ghadames, a living bridge between traditional and contemporary architecture and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Known as 'The Jewel of the Sahara' this oasis town is certainly well preserved. The unique design of connecting roofs with covered alleyways between them allowed the inhabitants to pass freely from house to house without having to expose themselves to the strong sun, blowing sand and heat. All the walls are painted white to reflect the sun and give an additional cooling effect. In contrast to the stark appearance of the town's exterior, the insides of homes are beautifully decorated with intricate and colorful designs. In the evening we will drive outside of town to a picturesque spot in the Ras al-Ghoul (Mountain of Ghosts). From here we can see Algeria and Tunisia. Along the way we stop to explore the ruins of Qasr al-Ghoul (Castle of the Ghost), believed to be haunted by the specters of the Islamic soldiers who died here during a 7th century siege of the fort. On the sand dunes is enjoyable moment to observe the sun set. Drive back to hotel .dinner and over night.

DAY 10:GHADAMIS/GHARIAN/TRIPOLI

Breakfast, departure for Tripoli . a visit to another granary at kabaw village and its small olive oil press .lunch then .late afternoon arrive at gharian to discover the troglodyte houses recently were abandoned ,then a stop at the interesting pottery market which is the biggest one in Libya. drive to Tripoli dinner and over night in the hotel.

DAY 11:DEPARTURE

Breakfast at the hotel free tour, then transfer to the airport. flight and end of our services.