Mini-Tour of Tripolitania, Libya

Day 1 Tripoli
Arrive Tripoli. Meet your guide and transfer to hotel. Short walking tour in modern Tripoli with its Italian influences.
Centre: Tripoli for 3 nights.

Day 2 Tripoli - Janzour – Sabrata - Tripoli
Head west from Tripoli along the coastal road to visit the Janzour Museum with its catacombs and tomb paintings. Continue to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Sabrata, originally founded in the 4th century BC. It later fell under Greek influence before Rome took hold in the 1st century AD. The most spectacular monument is the Theatre, featuring 108 Corinthian columns rising to a height of twenty metres above the stage. Below the stage you will see marble friezes depicting mythological figures including the Three Graces, the Judgement of Paris and the Nine Muses. On the return to Tripoli visit Janzour museum with its tomb frescoes.

Return to Tripoli for a visit to the wonderful National (Jamahiriya) Museum, housed in the Red Castle (Al-Saraya al-Hamra), which includes one of the finest collections of statuary and mosaics in the world. Following the museum, you’ll explore the walled old town of Tripoli encloses, arguably, the most charming medina in all of North Africa. Visit the bustling souks, each devoted to a different trade, the historic house of the 18th century governor Karamanli, the 19th century Ottoman clock tower and the sole surviving building of Roman Oea, the 2nd century Arch of Marcus Aurelius.

Day 3 Leptis Magna
Full day excursion to Leptis Magna, the largest and best-preserved Roman city in the world and came to prominence in the 2nd century AD under its native son, the Emperor Septimus Severus. Following his reign, the city fell into decline until revived by the Emperor Justinian in the 5th century AD at which time it fell under Byzantine rule.

The vast site is truly spectacular: the sites include the triumphal Arch of Septimus Severus, the Hadrianic Baths complex, the Palaestra (Athletics Ground), the Nymphaeum (Temple of Nymphs), the huge Imperial Forum, the Basilica, the Arches of Tiberius and Trajan, the Theatre with its beautiful backdrop against the Mediterranean Sea, the Sanctuary of the Divine Emperors, the Market with its unique kiosks which, at the time of construction, were a groundbreaking design in the Roman world. You will also visit the Circus and the enormous Amphitheatre, the most complete in the world, with seating for over 15,000 spectators. You can visit the vast arena, and see the gladiators’ anterooms and animal enclosures.

En route back to Tripoli, if open a visit will be made to the 2nd century Villa Sileen, the home of a wealthy Roman family that was discovered in 1974. The wall paintings portray scenes such as gladiatorial combat and chariot racing while the mosaics display river scenes that include sea nymphs, birds and animals. (NB: Villa Sileen is currently closed with no re-opening date set.)

Day 4 Tripoli – Tripoli Airport
At leisure prior to transfer to the airport.

FARES per person