|
|
Culture Tour (1)
7 Nights 8 Days
Benghazi – Qasar Libya – Ptolemais – Apollonia – Cyrene–
Benghazi – Tripoli – Sabratha - Leptis Magna
Day 01: Meet at Benghazi airport. Overnight hotel in
Benghazi.
Day 02: Breakfast, departure to Ptolemais; the city
was founded in the 3rd century B.C and was a port for the
City of Barce, Ptolemais became capital of the province of
Libya Superior in the time of Diocletian and Capital of the
Pentapolis around the 5th century A.D. The Site present
itself in a very modest way, however its very interesting
and romantic, we start our visit with the Museum which host
some of Ptolemais monuments like the 4 season mosaic and the
fountain of the 8 dancing Menadi, move to the site where we
find the remains of the Arch of Constantine 311-312 A.D ,
the Columns Palace the most famous building in Ptolemais
dated between the 2nd –1st century B.C with an area of
37x164 m (6000 sq m ) from which you already admired the
mosaic of the Medusa during your visit to the Museum.
Continue towards the great cisterns a big complex of 15
cisterns; 4 to the north, 4 to the south, 3 on the west, 3
to the east and one central, 6 m deep and 5 million 4
hundred thousand cubic m of water which arrives through a
channel 25 km away from the city, finish of the visit, lunch
at the Site restaurant, continue to Albyda city dinner and
overnight in 4* hotel.
Day 03: Breakfast, departure for the excursion of the
City of Cyrene; the history of the founding as a Greek
immigrants from the Island (modern Santorin) has been handed
to us as a mixture of legend and historical tradition.
The date to this event is 631 B.C. king Battus the First
ruled for 40 years over his tiny immigrant community wisely
and moderately, Cyrene has been through different eras from
the Republican era 414 B.C to Alexander the Great and the
Hellenistic rulers 332 B.C, to the Romans, 96 B.C to the
Byzantine since the late 324 A.D and finally to the Arab
invasion in 635 A.D. Some of Cyrene famous Men are Synesius
370-413 a member of a cyrenean family and was an ambassador
to Constantinopole and proclaimed Bishop of Ptolemais in
410A.D, the excavation of both Apollonia and Cyrene started
by Lemaire in 1705, and the ruins visible before excavation
began were documented by Beechey in 1822 and by Pacho in
1824. Visiting Cyrene, The Forum and Agora, the Forum of
Proculus or Caesareum a great rectangular enclosure with
internal porticoes, the original function of this building
is still matter of dispute. The Agora which host many of
Cyrene remains as the Naval Monument, the Capitolium and
most important the Tomb of Battus the Founder of the City.
The Acropolis Hill which still yet to be excavated, continue
downhill to visit the Fountain and the Sanctuary of Apollo,
which were for most their history, distinct zones.
The Fountain of Apollo was the prime cause of the City’s
foundation on this site, and was linked in legend, with the
nymph Kura or Kurana a Greek maiden, whom Apollo wooed and
brought to Libya as his pride, the fountain is a torrent of
water emerging from cavern’s mouth on the upper terrace.
The true spring lies at the end of 300 yards tunnel, in the
heart of the hillside, on the left hand side of the fountain
5 circular Byzantine lime-kilns which consumed many of the
pagan statues., moving down here is the mighty Sanctuary of
Apollo its Greek and Roman Propylea, inside the sanctuary we
find the Temple of Apollo the most important monument which
incorporate the remains of three buildings. The sanctuary
also includes the temple of Jason Magnus, the fountain of
Cyrene, semi-circular construction surmounted by a statue of
the nymph strangling a lion, the Temple of Isis in which a
statue of the Egyptian goddess has been found and the Grotto
of the Priests, in the same area there also the Greek
Theatre transformed by the Roman in an Amphitheatre.
Then we move to the Great Temple of Zeus - alongside the
Necropolis of Cyrene one of the most extensive cemeteries in
the ancient world, and covers many square miles. The visible
multiple grave tombs number over 1200 and there are also
several thousand of sarcophagi – the largest temple of
Cyrene. It is an Octostyle building of gigantic dimension
slightly larger than the Parthenon of Athens and the temple
of Zeus at Olympia constructed in an archaic Doric style
around the 6th century B.C. stop for lunch, afternoon
excursion to Apollonian.
Ancient Apollonia, which was Cyrene’s port for a thousand
years and its ruins form an essential part of the whole
archeological complex, originally constructed by the Greeks
when they began to develop their naval merchant fleets,
modern Sousa was founded in 1897as a colony of Muslim
refugees from Crete and there is a decindely non African
strain apparent in its population. It was extensively
rebuilt in the Italian occupation as a port for coastal
shipping.
The first important monument to be encountered is the
Extra-Mural Church, only a corner of the outer walls of this
church is visible. The church is remarkable for the traces
of a triple apse – Triconchos- surviving in the cactus
garden at its east end, the Hellenistic City Walls of
Apollonian are well preserved through their landward course,
continue toward The Theatre which lies immediately outside
the eastern rampart, it is of a Greek type and of
Hellenistic date; but it was remodeled under the Emperor
Domitian 92-96 A.D, another monuments are the three churches
Western, eastern and Central built around the 6th century.
We conclude our visit with the Museum which include some of
the area’s heritage, drive to overnight in the Almanar hotel
4*.
Day 04: Drive to Qaser Libya, known a the Old Olbia
as it had been referred to in the Sinesio ( Bishop of Cyrene
) letters in the 5th century A.D and was the residence of
its bishop. It has two Churches of a great religious
interest.
The western known for its extraordinary architecture and the
eastern for its splendid 50 mosaics pieces ( they originally
came from the floor of the western Basilica and depict a
wide and interesting range of subject, the panels are in a
beautiful condition and one of them depicts the only
existing representation of the Pharos – Lighthouse os
Alexandria – one of the seven a wonders of the ancient World
) later in the Turkish period the eastern Church has been
transformed into a fort, continue to Benghazi, over night in
Benghazi.
Day 05: after breakfast drive to the airport and
flight to Tripoli, Drive ro Sabratha which was selected as
an Emporium, or trading post, by the Phoenician merchant
Sabratha holds one of the magnificent and interesting Roman
Theatre and one of the most splendid mosaics of the
Byzantine period.
Day 06: Breakfast, departure to Leptis Magna, one of
the best-preserved cities of antiquity. It was founded by
Phoenician merchants around the beginning of the first
millennium B.C. The great Emperor Sever us born in Leptis in
145 AD turned his attention to his native city making
substantial changes which every visitor could witness.
The visit starts with the Arch of Septimius Sever us
standing at the beginning of the main north-south street the
Cardo Maximums, where this intersects the east west street
the Documents Maximums , dedicated to the Sever us built in
203 A.D to celebrate the arrival of the great Emperor, to
the Polestar a place for sports and games which is parallel
to the Baths of Hadrian built in 126-127, remodeled in the
time of the Emperor Commodes 180-192, continue to the
Nymphaeum and the Street of Colonnades, built under Sever us
and dedicated to the nymphs, it is a semicircular
construction containing a pool and fountain, and surrounded
by walls, to the Severus Forum and the adjoining Basilica
which are the major extant large-scale buildings in Leptis,
to the Harbor which was originally the natural mouth of the
Leptis valley, sheltered from the sea by rocks to the north
and east, continue with the Old Forum which dated to the
beginning of the imperial era . In the northern corner of
the forum are the remains of tiles from the time of the
Emperor Augustus 30 B.C – 14 A.D during the governorship of
Calumnies. Stop for lunch in restaurant within the Site
area, continue the visit with the Museum and finally with
the Amphitheatre built in the period of Nero around the year
56 A.D on a natural slope of soft sandstone. It was
renovated and enlarged in the 2nd century A.D and again
under the Sever us. Near the Amphitheatre was a small temple
of the famous Artimes, or Diana, of Ephesus in Western Asia.
Dinner and overnight.
Day 07: full day Tripoli sightseeing visit the superb
National Museum, Green Square, Algeria Square Cathedral,
Church of Santa Maria, the 18th century British Consulate,
the 17th century French Consulate, the Arch of Marcus
Aurelius and the mosques and souks of the medina where lunch
will be take then drive to Tripoli, overnight hotel in
Tripoli.
Day 08: after breakfast morning shopping at Tripoli
Soaks then drive to airport for departure. |
