from $5,725* per person | 10 Days | Year-round |
Comfort accommodations | Exertion level: 3 | |
Operator: Travcoa | 24 people max |
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Libya, Africa, Middle East
Tripoli, Libya
You are met upon arrival
and taken to your hotel in the heart of the city. The rest of your day
is at your leisure in Libya’s largest city.
Corinthia Bab Africa Hotel, Tripoli
Sabratha & Benghazi
This morning it is
a short drive to the Mediterranean coast to tour Sabratha, a UNESCO
World Heritage Site. Explore the theater built during the reign of the
Emperor Commodus in the 1st century AD and still used for concerts
today. See the major sites, including the Temple of Hercules and the
Temple of Isis, the Basilica of Justinian, and the museum with its
extensive displays of Roman and Byzantine mosaics. Return to Tripoli for
your short flight to Benghazi, the second largest city in Libya. (B, L, D)
Tibesti Hotel, Benghazi
Ptolemais & Apollonia
Drive along the
coast to Ptolemais, founded during the 3rd century BC as a Hellenistic
mercantile city. Tour the Western Basilica, the Columned Palace, the
Theater, the underground Cisterns and its excellent museum. After lunch,
drive through the Green Mountains to Qasr-Libya. Visit the basilica of
Qsar-Libya Museum, housing more than 50 mosaic artifact fragments dating
back to the 6th century, a collection considered one of the world’s
finest. Stay the night along the beautiful Mediterranean coast. (B, L, D)
Al Manara Hotel, Appollonia
Cyrene, Apollonia & Tripoli
This
morning, visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Cyrene, founded in 7th
century BC and almost destroyed in the earthquake of 365. Some of the
vast number of Greek and Roman ruins you visit include the Agora quarter
with its Roman Basilica, the Temple of Demetra, Batthus Tomb and the
formidable Temple of Apollo. See the impressive Temple of Zeus and the
stunning Roman Amphitheatre. Next, explore the site of Apollonia and the
traditional village of Sousa. Tour the ancient Greek Theater, the Roman
baths, the Eastern, Central and Western Basilicas, and the Byzantine
Palace. Drive back to Benghazi for your flight to Tripoli this evening.
The morning of Day 5 tour Tripoli, founded by the Phoenicians in 1000 BC
and offering a wealth of monuments. In the old town visit the elegant
Gurgi Mosque, built in 1833, the Arch of Marcus Aurelius and the Ottoman
style residence of the Karamanli family. Tour the Santa Maria degli
Angeli church, Tripoli’s oldest church, today used as an exhibition hall
and explore the famed medina, whose high walls survived many invasions.
Visit the Red Castle, a massive pre-Roman structure that dominates the
city skyline and the Jamahiriya Museum, a National Antiquity Museum
housed inside the fortress. The afternoon is at leisure; stroll through
the souks for North African handicrafts including jewelry, silks,
pottery and weavings. (2B, 2L, D)
Corinthia Bab Africa Hotel, Tripoli
Nalut & Ghadames
Today drive
high into the Nafusa Mountains, stopping at the ghost towns of Qsar el
Haji and Nalut, for insights into the traditional Libyan cave lifestyle.
In Nalut, see the 300-year-old grain store, comprised of hundreds of
chambers used by families to hide oil and grain from invaders. After
lunch, continue to Ghadames, the “Pearl of the Desert,” an attractive
oasis town on the edge of the Sahara and on Libya’s border with Algeria
and Tunisia. The morning of Day 7 explore the old town, picturesque and
notable for its “cake and icing” mud-bricked architecture and
labyrinthine streets. Visit the Great Mosque and the Main Square which
was once used as a slave market. Enjoy lunch in a richly decorated
traditional house before taking a 4-wheel drive Jeep into the desert.
Enjoy tea and watch the colorful sunset on the dunes. (2B, 2L, 2D)
Hotel Dar Ghadames, Ghadames
Tripoli & Leptis Magna
This
morning visit the Ghadames Museum, displaying a wide range of
archaeological and cultural treasures including Stone Age implements and
fossils, desert rose crystals, bridal costumes and desert wildlife.
After lunch, fly to Tripoli and enjoy the rest of the day at leisure. On
Day 9 visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Leptis Magna, renowned as
the best-preserved and most extensive Roman city in the Mediterranean.
Growing from a simple Berber settlement to a great Roman metropolis, by
the 11th century the city was abandoned, then almost lost by the
encroaching desert dunes. Well-preserved by the sand, today you can see
the partially excavated ruins including the Severan Arch, erected in
honor of the Emperor’s visit, the marble and granite paneled Hadrianic
Baths, the Palaestra or Sports Ground and the amazingly detailed Severan
Basilica. Drive back to Tripoli by late afternoon. (2B, 2L)
Corinthia Bab Africa Hotel, Tripoli
Depart for Home
Today you are taken to the airport for your flight home or on to your next destination. (B)
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