Sapphire
Louis Cruise Lines

Libya Tour : Tripoli - Leptis Magna - Sabratha

Known as "The bride of the Mediterranean", Tripoli is the largest city in Libya and its historical capital. It was founded by the Phoenicians in 1000 B.C., and later absorbed by the Romans. The Arab Muslims liberated Tripoli or "Oea" in 643 A.D. Some of the city's ruins bear the marks of the various civilizations that once prospered in the city. The Arch of Marcus Aurelius represents the Roman era, while Al - Saraya Al- Hamra fortress stands as a witness to the various nationalities who inhabited the city.

This huge castle was probably built on the ruins of a Roman building dating from the 1 st century A.D. Arab Muslims, Spaniards, Knights of St. John, Ottomans, Turks and Italian used it as a government building. Now it houses the largest Museum in the country featuring an impressive collection of local Libyans, Phoenicians, Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Muslim antiques. A visit to this museum and a walk in the Old Market is a must for any visitor to Tripoli. The city also offers a combined rich and colorful heritage and a city orientation is required to unveil this glorious heritage.

World famous as the best preserved and most extensive Roman city in the world. Originally a Phoenician settlement probably founded in the 6th century BC under the aegis of Carthage, Leptis Magna became a great metropolis under the Romans, particularly during the reign of Septimus Severus (193-211 AD), who was born in the city. Following the end of the Severan dynasty, with the assassination of Alexander Severus in the year 235 AD, the city fell into decline although a period of rejuvenation occurred under Diocletian (284-305 AD) and Constantine (306-337 AD). When the Vandals conquered Tripolitania in the mid-5th century AD, it fell upon the Emperor Justinian to reclaim the land for Byzantium, which he achieved. In the 7th century, Tripolitania was conquered by the Arabs, and Leptis Magna never revisited its former glory. Among the many sites of interest at Leptis Magna are the Severan Arch, the Palaestra or Sports Ground, the Nymphaeum, the Hadrianic Baths, the Colonnaded Street, the Severan Forum, the Severan Basilica, the Theatre, the Harbor, the Circus, the Temple of Liber Pater, the Temple of Rome and Augustus, the Arch of Trojan, the Arch of Tiberius and the Market. Having visited this remarkable site you’ll re-board your coaches for the return journey to Tripoli port to rejoin your ship.

On leaving the port of Tripoli you'll drive westwards to the city of Sabratha which is located on the Mediterranean coast. It was founded by the Canaanites in the 6th century BC.

Like Leptis Magna, Sabratha began as a settlement to service the coastal trade of the Carthaginians. It was developed as a permanent site in the 4th century BC to act as a terminal for the trans-Saharan trade since it had a natural harbor on an otherwise long and unintended coastline. The site was later to become one of the 3 cities with Leptis and Oea (Tripoli). Sabratha prospered in the third century AD as a trading place for the Ivory coming from central Africa, through Ghadames and Fezzan. The Vandals who invaded North Africa from Europe abandoned it after its destruction. In 533 AD the Byzantines occupied the city and rebuilt most of it noticeably, the church of Justinian with its fine decorated mosaic floors. Amongst the walls and foundations of public buildings discovered in the city, are the market, tribunal and some temples. Among the most prominent features of the city during Roman times are the public arenas, the Temples of Liber Pater, Sirapis, Isis and Hercules, the forum, the theatre, the tribunal arena and the public paths. Ruins of the earliest Phoenician settlements have been found beneath the Roman town in the area between the forum and the sea. The main monument is the Amphitheatre, used in modern times as a theatre and concert hall. There is a variety of public baths, temples and fountains, with many first class mosaics both on site and in the adjacent Museum. Some Byzantine remains are on show to exemplify the revival after the Vandal invasions.