ToursLibya.com - Zuwara

Leptis Magna
Leptis Magna has deservedly earned a reputation of having the most complete and impressive Roman ruins in the entire North Africa. Leptis Magna was originally a Berber settlement, where after the Phoencians made it into a trading point. From the 6th century BC Leptis Magna was probably subdued by Carthage. It became part of the Roman empire in 111 BC.

The number of great monuments of Leptis Magna makes it a bit difficult to point out highlights. But the theatre is clearly one, and it has a splendid view from its upper tiers. Its diametre is 70 metres. Large parts of the structure has kept on to its ornamentation, and in the theatre there are many statues left.

The Hadrianic Baths are still impressive, and one of the pools, measuring 28 times 15 metre, remains intact. This bath house was one of the largest that ever was built outside Rome itself.
The circus, near a kilometre away from the main site, remains still only partly excavated. With its size of 450 times 100 metres it was one of the very largest in the entire Roman world.

A full day sightseeing in Libya’ s capital city, known as the ”White Bride of the Mediterranean”. In the morning, we visit the wonderful National (Jamahiriya) Museum 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, we”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 a 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.

The Acacus Mountains form a mountain range in the desert. They are situated east of the Libyan city of Ghat, and stretch north from the Algerian border about 100km. Tadrart means ‘mountain’ in the native language of the area. The area has a particularly rich array of prehistoric rock art. The Acacus Mountains have a large variation of landscapes from differently coloured sanddunes to arches, gorges, isolated rocks and deep ravines (wadis). The area is known for its rock-art, and was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985 because of the importance of these paintings and carvings.