Our first area of exploration is Tripoli, Libya’s largest commercial center and capital city, where we visit abundant museums, formidable fortresses and colourful mosques that detail the long history and culturally rich heritage of its historic medina quarters. Winding arcaded streets, magnificent temples, grand theaters and public baths number among the plethora of impressive architectural legacies that remain from the Byzantine, Roman and Arab periods of the city. We make route for Ghadames, ‘the jewel of the Sahara’, stopping off to experience rural life in small, mountain-top towns along the way, and see unique Saharan architecture, UNESCO Heritage historic centers and houses built from mud, lime and palm-tree trunks.
Our trip to Cyrene, a city founded in the 7th century BC that once served as a major center in the ancient Greek Pentapolis of North Africa, is said to be among the most impressive and best-preserved Greek cities of Cyrenaica; our comprehensive exploration of its temples, gymnasium and tombs lets us discover how it earns its reputation. From here, we head to Tobruk, a city made famous as the scene for one of the bloodiest and most tragic battles of the Second World War, where we tour Rommel’s headquarters and cemeteries that house bodies from both sides, and then it’s on to one of the great cities of Roman Africa at Leptis Magna.
Probably the most extensive and impressive archaeological site in the Mediterranean, Leptis Magna offers us the chance to stroll through Hadrianic baths and basilicas and forum complexes built by Emperor Septimus Severus in a city that has remained largely intact over the centuries as it lay abandoned, covered in sand and waiting to be re-discovered. As we travel into Malta, we find a land rich in history and beautiful landscape. We cruise past the sailing routes of Knights of St John and the great Ottoman fleets of Suleyman the Magnificent, learn about the Great Sieges of the ‘three cities’ of Cospicua, Senglea and Vittoriosa, and visit Marsaxlokk, perhaps the most picturesque fishing village in Malta and a place where form and decoration of fleets of vessels can be traced back to the age of the Phoenicians.
Investigating underground caves that served as home to the first Neolithic settlers over 6,000 years ago and exploring the excavated megalithic site of the maze known as the Tarxien Temple complex and Neolithic temples of Hagar Oim allow us to witness some of the oldest man-made structures in the world. We see Roman citadels from the 2nd century AD and early Christian catacombs dating from the 8th century AD, admire grand Cathedrals in the capital, Victoria, and sail to the fluorescent Blue Grotto, the legendary home of the sirens who serenaded sailors to their destruction with soft, sweet verse.
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
Price Includes:
- Breakfast and dinner (hotels & local restaurants) daily
- All sightseeing and entrance fees for sites noted as ‘visited’ in the detailed itinerary
- Gratuities for local guides, drivers, restaurant staff, porters
- Domestic flights via local scheduled carriers as per the itinerary
- Airport transfers for land / air customers arriving / departing on tour dates.
Price Excludes:
- Tour Leader gratuities, lunches, drinks, personal items (phone, laundry, etc), international (if applicable) and domestic air taxes, visa fees, excursions referenced as ‘optional’
- Airport transfers for early / late arrivals / departures or Land Only customers
- Our post-reservation trip notes offer further guidance on optional meal costs, shopping and visas.
Also see tour packages in:
Africa
Libya
Malta
Cultural Journey
Archeology/History
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