14 Day Classical Tour, Libya

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

Day 2 Tripoli
A full day sightseeing in Libya’s capital city, known as the “White Bride of the Mediterranean”. In the morning, see the famous Green Square and visit 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.

The walled old town of Tripoli encloses, arguably, the most charming medina in all of North Africa. After lunch in an old town restaurant, you’ll explore the warren of streets and alleyways, including the bustling souks, each devoted to a different trade, the historic house of the 18th century governor Karamanli, the Karamanli Mosque, the 16th century Dragut Mosque, burial place of the famous pirate of that name, the 19th century Gorgi Mosque, the 18th century former British Consulate, the former Turkish Prison, now an infant school, St. George’s Orthodox Church, the 19th century Ottoman clock tower and the sole surviving building of Roman Oea, the 2nd century Arch of Marcus Aurelius.

Day 3 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.

Other sites include the Punic Mausoleum of Bes, the Temple of Antoninus, the Temple of Zeus, the Court of Justice and the great Roman Forum. The Roman Museum houses exquisite mosaics including complete wall and floor panels.

Day 4 Tripoli – Benghazi
A morning flight takes you from Tripoli to Libya’s second city, Benghazi. Visit the Commonwealth Cemetery, the resting place of Allied soldiers killed during World War II, the remains of the ancient Greek city of Berenice (Hesperides), and take a walking tour in the city with its charming pedestrian precinct including Tahrir (Freedom) Square with its imposing Italian Town Hall, Atiq Mosque and Osman Mosque. Also visit Souq al-Jareed, the liveliest bazaar in Benghazi, and a traditional house where wood carvings are exhibited.
Centre: Benghazi for 1 night.

Day 5 Tocra- Ptolemais - Cyrene
First stop on leaving Benghazi is the ancient Greek city of Tocra. Little remains of the original city today but there is a splendid if small Turkish-Italian fort with great views of the Mediterranean from the watchtower. Continue to the Greco-Roman city of Ptolemais where sites include the Villa of the Four Seasons, the Odeon Theatre, Agora (market area), the Colonnaded Palace and the great underground Cisterns, once the largest in North Africa. There is also a fine museum which houses the Four Seasons mosaic taken from the villa on the main site and a number of statues and tablets.

Afterwards, drive through the Jabal Akhdar (Green Mountains) to the Cyrene area where you will stay for 3 nights.
Centre: Al-Bayda for 3 nights.

Day 6 Cyrene
Full day excursion to the magnificent Greek city of Cyrene, founded in the 6th century BC by immigrants from the Greek island of Thera. The city reached its zenith in the 4th century BC, was ruled by the Ptolemies from the 3rd century BC and fell under Roman rule in the 1st century CD. Two major earthquakes in the 3rd and 4th centuries AD sealed its fate.

Amongst the sites visited in Cyrene are the colossal Temple of Zeus, larger than the Parthenon in Athens, the hillside Necropolis containing over 2000 tombs, the Forum, the monumental passageway of Hermes and Hercules, House of the High Priest Jason Magnus, the House of the Christian Hesychius, the Agora (with its Tomb of Battus, Sanctuary of Demeter and Kore and Naval Monument), the Sanctuary of Apollo containing the Temple of Apollo and the Roman Baths, and the Amphitheatre. There is also a small but excellent Museum.

Day 7 Apollonia – Ras al-Hilal – Al-Atrun
The morning is devoted to ancient Apollonia, which remained the port of Cyrene for a thousand years. Here you will see the several Byzantine churches, the Roman baths, the Palace and arguably the most enchanting Greek theatre in the world, set in a picturesque cove. Afterwards, drive along the coastal road of the Green Mountains to enjoy the vista and a picnic lunch (dependent on weather) before visiting the Byzantine churches at Ras al-Hilal and Al-Atrun. Also visit Kaf Hawafte, a cave with the largest opening in North Africa.

Day 8 Slontah - Qasr Libya – Benghazi - Tripoli
From Cyrene, travel back through the Green Mountains to Slontah, site of a tiny, eerie pre-Islamic grotto with grotesque carvings; its use is in doubt but it may have been a funerary site.

Continue to Qasr Libya with its Byzantine church and museum housing one of the finest collections of mosaics in the country: 50 panels depicting river gods, nymphs and wildlife as well as a very rare depiction of the Pharos Lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Continue to Benghazi for an afternoon flight back to Tripoli.
Centre: Tripoli for 1 night.

Day 9 Qasr al-Haj – Nalut – Ghadames
Today, you will drive into the Berber heartland of the Jabal Nafusa. First stop will be at Qasr al-Haj to visit the most beautiful Berber granary qasr (castle) in Libya, and it’s no wonder that Dan Cruickshank chose this imposing 13th century fortress, circular in build, as one of “The World’s 80 Greatest Treasures” in his recent BBC TV series.

Continue to Nalut to visit another Berber qasr situated on the edge of an escarpment. This impressive granary castle, with its narrow, winding passageways, is of a different design to that of Qasr al-Haj.

Continue to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ghadames, known as the “Jewel of the Sahara” where you will stay for two nights.
Centre: Ghadames for 2 nights.

Day 10 Ghadames
Entering via the ancient gateway of Bab al-Burr, today you will explore the labyrinthine streets and enclosed passages of Ghadames’ old town, once inhabited by the tribes of the Bani Wazid and the Bani Walid. Renowned for its distinctive architecture, you will visit the various small squares, the old mosque and a madrasa (Koranic school), see the fruit and vegetable gardens and view the ancient system of irrigation. Lunch will be taken in a richly decorated traditional house in the age-old manner, sitting on the floor eating from commmunal dishes (on Full Board Plan only). You can climb on to the roof of the house to see where the women, forbidden to wander the streets alone, would use the rooftops as a pedestrian thoroughfare. A visit will also be made to Ghadames museum with its historical and ethnographic displays.

Later in the afternoon, climb aboard four-wheel drive vehicles to visit Ras al-Ghoul (Summit of the Ghost), the remains of an ancient Roman fort before heading for the sand dunes of the Grand Erg Oriental, bordering the countries of Libya, Algeria and Tunisia, to watch the sunset.

Day 11 Kabow - Tormisa – Gharyan - Tripoli – Al Khoms or Zliten
Leaving Ghadames, head back into the Jabel Nafusa to visit another ancient qasr at Kabow before driving to the abandoned village of Tormisa with its stunning clifftop views. Continue to Gharyan where you will visit a Berber troglodyte house. Gharyan is also famous for its pottery, and you will see the many pottery stalls lined up along the road on the outskirts of the city. Continue to Al-Khoms or Zliten.
Centre: Al-Khoms or Zliten for 2 nights.

Day 12 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, and the Market with its unique kiosks which, at the time of construction, were a groundbreaking design in the Roman world. Return to Al-Khoms or Zliten.

Day 13 Zliten – Leptis Magna – Villa Sileen (if open) – Tripoli
In the morning visit the mosque and shrine of the 16th century holy man, Sidi Abd al-Salaam, in Zliten, its facade bringing to mind images of the Thousand & One Nights. Later, return to visit the eastern section of Leptis Magna with its Circus and 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, 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.)
Centre: Tripoli for 1 night.

Day 14 Tripoli – Tripoli Airport
At leisure prior to transfer to the airport.

FARES per person

4 Day Mini-Tour Tripolitania, Libya

8 Day Tour trough Libya