Day 1 Arrive in Rome 

Today we arrive in Rome and transfer to our hotel.

Our time in Rome is necessary for the conclusion of Libyan visa formalities. Our local agents will take care of these details while we enjoy some sightseeing in Rome.

If you are thinking of booking your own flights, please speak to an Adventures Abroad sales agent first as there are implications re internal flights on the tour.

Overnight in Rome. Meal plan: Dinner, if required.

Day 2 Rome: City Tour 

We begin our guided tour* of Rome at the 2,000 year old colosseum. Built to seat 55,000 spectators, this arena staged Rome's most brutal gladitorial combats. Next we walk through the Roman Forum where we will see the Curia, the Rostra, the Temple of Vesta, the Basilica of Constantine, and the Arch of Titus. Continuing onwards and upwards we reach the Campidoglio (Capitoline Hill), seat of the Roman Senate since the 12th century and the original citadel of the city. This beautiful square was redesigned by Michelangelo in the 16th century. Our lunch break is spent close to Largo Argentina, the site of the assassination of Julius Caesar.

After lunch we continue our tour focusing on Baroque Rome. In Piazza Navona we can admire the impressive Fountain of the Four Rivers, with detailed figures representing the Nile, Ganges, Danube and Palata rivers. We will also visit the famous Trevi Fountain, designed by Nicholas Salvi in 1732. It's water was supplied by one of Rome's earliest aquaducts. Throwing a coin into the fountain ensures your safe return back to Rome. We pass the temple-turned church called the Pantheon, and have the opportunity to admire its perfect proportions on our way to the Spanish steps, where we finish our tour. Balance of the day at leisure.

* NOTE: Due to traffic problems and the fact that today's sites are reasonably close to each other, much of today's tour will occur on foot and with Rome's efficient public transit system.

Overnight in Rome. Meal plan: Breakfast and dinner.

Day 3 Rome, Italy - Tripoli, Libya

Today we fly from Rome to Tripoli.* Balance of the day at leisure, OR, if this is a morning flight, we may accomplish some of our Tripoli sightseeing today.

* NOTE: The flights from / to Rome are included ONLY IF you book your flights with Adventures Abroad, as the cost will be built into the fare for your full international air package.

Overnight in Tripoli. Meal plan: Breakfast and dinner.

Day 4 Tripoli & Sabratha 

We spend the morning visiting the Jamahiriya Museum of Tripoli, which contains an impressive collection from all eras of Libyan history, from the Neolithic to the present. Located in a castle built into the southeast corner of the city wall overlooking the harbour, the main complex is Ottoman, with a mosque, harem and many courtyards, though the castle is undoubtedly built on the foundations of earlier fortresses. The intricate network of paths within the castle reflects the style of winding arcaded streets seen in the old city.

This afternoon we visit Sabratha, located one hour's drive to the west of Tripoli, spectacularly overlooking the shores of the Mediterranean sea. The city was originally built by the Phoenician (the Canaanites) in the 6th century BC as a trading post. As was the case with other cities of Tripolis, Sabratha was under the domination of Carthage; the main Phoenician settlement in Tunisia till 146 BC. Even though much of the city was destroyed by earthquakes during the 4th century, the Punic city, the Museum of Bes, and the Great Theatre, the Temples of Isis, Hercules, and Sirapis, Liber Pater, the Mosaics of Jason Magnus, the Capitolium, the public baths are still outstanding and provide the most prominent features of the city during the Roman times. The most spectacular site in Sabratha is the theatre, probably built during the reign of the Emperor Commodus (161-192 AD), with its three-storey backdrop of columns.

Overnight in Tripoli. Meal plan: Breakfast and dinner.

Day 5 Tripoli - Qasr Al Haj - Nalut - Ghadames 

Today we travel by road to Ghadames, located near the Libya-Tunisia-Algeria frontier. En route we stop at the ancient granary at Qasr al-Haj before continuing to Nalut, a small town on the top of a mountain, about 800 m above sea level. Here we can visit the old part of the town where you can get an impression of how the people lived some 800 years ago.

We continue to Ghadames, situated within an oasis, and located approximately 340 miles in the south west of Tripoli near the borders to Algeria and Tunisia. The oasis has a population of 7000, among Berbers and some Tuareg. The old part of the town, which is surrounded by a wall, has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Each of the seven clans that used to live in this part of the town had its own district, of which each had a public place where festivals could be held. In the 1970s, the government built new houses outside of the old part of the town. However, many inhabitants return to the old part of the town during the summer, as its architecture provides better protection against the heat.

The first records about Ghadames exist not before the Roman period, when there where troops in the town from time to time. During the 6th century, a Bishop lived in the oasis, after the population have been converted to Christians by the people of the Byzantine Empire. During the 7th century, Ghadames was ruled by the Muslim Arabs. The population quickly converted to Islam. Ghadames has played an important role as base for the Trans-Saharan trade until the 19th century.

Overnight in Ghadames. Meal plan: Breakfast and dinner.

Day 6 Ghadames

Today we have a tour of the highlights of Ghadames. The architecture here is Saharan in design and has been uniquely preserved. The local people have been able to use all the resources available in a poor environment to create perfect living conditions in a harsh climate. The local houses are built from mud, lime, palm tree trunks and leaves -- the only available building materials. The result, however, is most impressive. Elegant and stylish, the local homes are fittingly perfect into the harsh desert environment.

The Ghadames region features full integration of the vegetation and cultivable land within the residential part of the town. Low-lying gardens line the streets in order to be closer to the water table. A sense of coolness given by the running water and the shade of the palm trees makes the heat bearable, even in the hot summer months.

Overnight in Ghadames. Meal plan: Breakfast and dinner.

Day 7 Ghadames - Yefren

Departing early this morning for our drive north to the small town Yefren via Kabaw where we see some ghurfas, grain stores built by the local Berbers and located at the very summit of the village. In older days, grain was almost as important to protect as water, therefore the position. This area is one of strong impressions and colours, with fresh red soil, and thriving agriculture. To some extent, even the modern village of Yefren is worth a visit, as the people adorn their house doors and walls.

Overnight in Yefren. Meal plan: Breakfast and dinner.

Day 8 Yefren - Tripoli - Benghazi 

Today we travel to Tripoli's domestic airport and fly to Benghazi, ancient capital of Cyrenaica. Situated on the eastern edge of the Gulf of Sirte, Benghazi ranks as the second largest city in Libya and a major commercial centre.

Overnight in Benghazi. Meal plan: Breakfast and dinner.

Day 9 Benghazi - Cyrene - Apollonius 

This morning we visit Cyrene, founded in the seventh century BC and under different influences, from the Carthaginians, Greeks, Egyptians and then Roman. The site at Cyrene has yet not been fully excavated but some remarkable finds from the Graeco-Roman period can be seen; Cyrene ranks as the best-preserved of the Greek cities of Cyrenaica, with its temples, tombs, agora, gymnasium and theatre originally modeled on those at Delphi. Its location high on a bluff overlooking the sea is stunning. From the southern entrance of the ruins, the first monument is the agora. An agora was the principal square of a Greek city, corresponding to the Roman forum. Most of the important civic buildings were around this area and the space would probably also have been used as a market. Following the Sacred Way down to the lower levels of the city, we pass caves in which the sacred virgins bathed before entering the sanctuary. On the lower levels of the city is the Sanctuary of Apollo. This is part of a cluster of temples and other later buildings, including Roman baths.

We also have a tour of the site of Apollonius, a well-preserved Hellenistic city centred around a shrine to Apollo, the mausoleum of Battus, and a great temple to Zeus.

Overnight at Apollonius. Meal plan: Breakfast and dinner.

Day 10 Apollonius - Tobruk - Apollonius 

Today we travel to Tobruk. We will have sightseeing in this famous World War II city, including Rommel's HQ, the Knightsbridge, and the remains of the tragic Lady-Be-Good airplane. We'll learn about the titanic and bloody clash of forces that marked the turning point of World War II, and pay a moving visit to the cemeteries where lie the dead from both sides.

Return to Apollonius.

Overnight in Apollonius. Meal plan: Breakfast and dinner.

Day 11 Apollonius - Benghazi - Tripoli 

Today we drive to Benghazi from where we fly back to Tripoli.

This evening you may want to explore the old walled city of Tripoli, the Medina, one of the classical sites of the Mediterranean. The basic street plan was laid down in the Roman period when the walls were constructed on the landward sides against attacks from the interior of Tripolitania. The high walls survived many invasions, each conqueror restoring the damage done. In the 8th century the Muslim ruler built a wall on the sea-facing side of the city.

Overnight in Tripoli. Meal plan: Breakfast and dinner.

Day 12 Tripoli - Leptis Magna - Tripoli 

Today we visit Leptis Magna, one of the great cities of Roman Africa. We will see the early forum, the theatre and Hadrianic baths as well as the great basilica and forum complex built by Emperor Septimus Severus. Leptis Magna is probably the most extensive and impressive archaeological site in the Mediterranean. Leptis was similar in status to that of Palmyra in Syria and Ephesus in Turkey: a provincial city with a rural role as were the other two cities of Tripolitania of Sabrantha and Ocea, now Tripoli. The city has remained largely intact in that for centuries it was covered in sand, and today a total of thirty major monuments can be observed. Hundreds of statues and mosaics have been transferred to museums in Tripoli. Leptis reached the height of its glory when Septimus Sevrus became emperor and its decline started with the invasion of the Vandals in 429.

We enter the site and the first thing we will encounter is the Severan Arch which was erected in honour of Emperor Septimus Severus' visit to his hometown in AD 203. Not far off are the marble and granite panelled Hadrianic Baths, the largest outside Rome. We continue to explore and discover the partially covered nymphaeum, a shrine dedicated to the worships of nymphs; a pair of massive forums, similar in design and gradiosity to the imperial forum in Rome; the
extraordinarily detailed basilica and theatre; and the circus and amphitheatre where chariot races and similar spectacles were held for the locals' amusement.

Overnight in Tripoli. Meal plan: Breakfast and dinner.

Day 13 Depart   
  

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