Classical Antiquities of Libya
2010:
September 11 - 17, 2010
October 2 - 8, 2010
November 27 - December 3, 2010
2011:
January 8 - 14, 2011
February 12 - 18, 2011
March 12 - 18, 2011
April 2 - 8, 2011

The classical remains of Libya are among the finest and yet least well known in the world. The West of what is now Libya was originally colonized by the Phoenicians and later administered by the Romans, while Greeks settled in the East. The flourishing of an intensive trade transformed this area into one of the most important of the ancient Mediterranean: slaves, grain, wild animals, ivory and the medicinal plant silphium were the main commodities that once flowed from the harbors of Libya and contributed to the great wealth of the local population.

Following the Punic wars, Libya came into contact with the Romans and was later incorporated in the Roman Empire under the name of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica. This region was home to several influential people in Classical antiquity: Callimachus the Hellenistic poet, Eratosthenes who calculated the circumference of the earth with remarkable accuracy, and Septimus Severus, who was born in Leptis Magna and became the first Roman emperor of African origins.

This Classical Libya itinerary will reveal to you the breathtaking and perfectly preserved sites dating to the Greek and Roman periods. You will be able to admire the highlights of Cyrenaica: Cyrene, Apollonia and Qasr Libya and compare and contrast these Greek settlements with the magnificent Roman cities of Tripolitana: Leptis Magna and Sabratha.