Cultural Discovery Tour In Egypt, Libya & Tunisia

Arrive in Tunis and check-in at hotel.

Overnight Standard Hotel

This morning we take a metro to the magnificent ruins of Carthage. Founded around 814 BC by the Phoenician Queen Dido, Carthage grew to be the most important and powerful trading centre on the Mediterranean and in the known world. The mighty fleet of hundreds of armed ships was an efficient deterrent against invaders for many centuries and its geographical situation as the gateway to Africa, made it a crucial strategic asset, which the Romans fought hard to attain. After the 3rd and final Punic war the Romans sacked Carthage in 146 BC, destroyed much of the old town and set about constructing the Pro- Consular capital of Africa from the debris. Today many of the ruins date from the Roman period but we'll also see the two ancient Punic harbours, once the very foundation of Carthaginian prosperity. Continuing by metro we visit the attractive town of Sidi Bou Said, where scarlet bougainvillaea cascades over the walls of the narrow streets, and colourful shops overflow with carpets, pottery and jewellery.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

This morning we visit the Bardo museum, housed in an old palace. It is an excellent National museum brimming with treasures of Tunisian history dominated by the Punic, Roman and Christian periods. It is said to house one of the best collections of Roman/Byzantine mosaics anywhere. Leaving the capital this afternoon we drive to Le Kef, via the Roman settlement of Dougga. This magnificent Roman city is perched on a plateau, surrounded by fertile land fed by abundant springs. The capitol, dedicated to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva in 166 AD is arguably the most beautiful Roman monument in North Africa. We'll see the amphitheatre where the 'Comedie Francaise' regularly performs, the square of the twelve winds and even the town brothel! Then it is on to Le Kef, where we spend the night.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

This morning we make a visit to Bulla Regia. This unusual Roman site is distinctive in that the villas were built underground to avoid the searing heat. Colourful mosaics are found scattered through the site, their vivid colours well preserved in the cool and shade. We return to Le Kef where you are free to relax. Le Kef, (The Rock), clings to Jebel Dyr, the largest mountain in the region. From its Kasbah, its most beautifully preserved monument, constructed by Arabs and rebuilt by the Turks, are commanding views over the plains. Some scattered remains date back to the Roman period including those of large baths, cisterns, fortifications and Christian basilicas, as well as a few Arab monuments, including the Mosque of Sidi Bou Makhlouf. This evening you may like to try a relaxing hammam.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

Driving to Kairouan today, we will visit the Roman ruins of Sbeitla, or 'Sufetla' en route. Reached through a huge triumphal arch built in 138AD while Antonius Pious was Emperor, all that is known about this town comes from the inscriptions in its walls and stones. The most impressive ruins are those of the Forum, entirely surrounded by a well preserved 70m x 67m wall and containing 3 temples dedicated to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. Ruins of the great baths, churches and two Byzantine fortresses can also be seen. The prosperity of the town was ensured by the production of olives, the staple diet of Rome's legions. Some of the ingenious olive presses can still be seen today. Kairouan is the holiest city in Tunisia and even today it retains a strong spiritual feel. It is also the birthplace of great poets and doctors of religious law, echoing the traditional Islamic link between Art and Faith.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

This morning we will visit the Great Mosque, the 4th holiest Islamic centre after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. Originally constructed in the seventh century, the Mosque has a myriad of columns and arabesque bas-reliefs surrounding an immense marble courtyard. We continue our visit taking in the Aghlabid Pools and the Mosque of the Barber, richly decorated with exquisite patterns and carvings. The imposing archway through the walled ramparts leads us into the labyrinth of the medina and covered market. Here traditional crafts such as copper and silver engraving, carpet weaving and saddle making are carried out. This is a good place to stop for a coffee, scented with rose water, or try a local delicacy 'makroudh', small wheat cakes soaked in honey and stuffed with dates. Leaving Tunisia’s spiritual centre, we then head for Sfax, her economic centre. En route we visit the magnificent amphitheatre in El Djem. Second only to that of Rome, it looms unexpectedly out of plains rich in olive groves. The olives were the wealth of the region and commercialisation of olive oil led to 'Thysdrus' becoming an important and prosperous trading centre for agricultural products. The huge amphitheatre was constructed with stone from quarries over 30 kilometres away! Later we travel on to Tunisia's second city of Sfax, the wealthiest and most sophisticated city in the country. The great medina, with its impressive gateway and towering solid walls topped by jagged ramparts, hide a multitude of narrow alleyways leading to the mosque in the centre.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

There will be time free this morning for personal exploration in Sfax before we continue our journey across the desert to Matmata, one of the most famous sites in Tunisia, on account of its ‘invisible village’. First recorded in the 4th Century it is home to one of the oldest of the Berber tribes who chose these subterranean homes as a means of escaping the extremes of the desert. Camouflaged by the sandy pockmarked landscape and situated within immense craters, there are around 50 or so underground dwellings, many still in use today. Circular pits with vertical walls have been dug out of the crumbly sandstone and a sunken courtyard created, with tunnels cut into the walls to form caves and rooms. The surreal, other world feel is doubtless one of the reasons that it was chosen for the desert scenes in the movie Star Wars. Tonight we stay in an original cave dwelling complex, now converted into a simple hotel with communal facilities, where caves have been transformed into ‘bedrooms’.

Overnight Simple Hotel Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner

We head out into the desert once more today towards Tataouine. Our route from Matmata takes us initially through some spectacular craggy scenery towards Ksar el Hallouf, then via Ksar Haddada, before arriving in Tataouine. From here we plan to visit one of the most impressive hill top villages – Chenini. This mountain stronghold is typified by ‘ksour’ and ‘ghorfas’ – fortified granaries where food was stored by individual tribes to protect supplies from the invading Arabs. Chenini is probably the best known of these Berber villages, with streets that are essentially narrow ledges and houses that are a honeycomb of cliff homes built into the rock, rising up between the old and the new Great Mosques.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

After an early departure we head for the Tunisian border and cross over into Libya today and continue on, along the Mediterranean coast, toward the ancient city of Sabratha, founded by the Canaanites in the 6th century BC. Following a guided introduction to the site, we’ll spend some time exploring the extensive remnants from the city’s Roman period. Sabratha was under the domination of Carthage before its defeat by the Romans. It particularly prospered during the 3rd century AD, becoming famous as a trading centre for gold, ivory, leather and slaves, brought north from central Africa through the Saharan trade posts of Ghadames and Fezzan. Of particular interest are its splendid theatre and marble clad public baths. From Sabratha we continue to Tripoli, Libya’s capital and largest city.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

Tripoli was founded by the Phoenician traders in the 5th century BC. It was later absorbed and shaped by the Roman Empire, the Muslim world from the East, the Ottoman Empire and the Italian occupation. Today, the local Libyan and historic Turkish cultures have merged to create Tripoli’s rich and colourful heritage. This morning we’ll take a walking tour of the city, along the narrow dusty streets of the old walled Medina and through its covered souks. After visiting the Arch of Marcus Aurelius we visit the Gurgi mosque and the beautifully renovated Karamanly house we’ll make our way to the Castle or ‘Red Fort’, built on the ruins of a Roman building dating back to the 1st century AD. Although the castle is currently off-limits due to renovation work, we can still access Libya’s premier museum, Mathaf Al-Sarai Al- Hamra, which lies within the castle grounds and our visit reveals an impressive collection of Libyan, Phoenician, Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Muslim antiquities.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

Continuing along the coast we reach Leptis Magna, the greatest and most extensive remains of any Roman city and archaeological site in Africa. Unlike many other ancient cities, Leptis Magna has kept its remains on a large scale and it is easy to imagine what a complete Roman city would have looked like, with its many Forums, Baths and numerous paved streets and triumphal arches. We take a guided tour of the main complex, visiting some of the 30 or so major monuments that have been restored, including the Forum, market and theatre. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982, Leptis Magna was founded by the Phoenicians in the 5th century BC, in an attempt to secure their eastern borders in the face of Greek expansion. The city came under the domination of the Roman Empire following the third Punic War, reaching the zenith of its prosperity during the reign of Septimis Severus, a native of the town who become emperor in the 3rd century AD. Falling into decline following the invasion of the Vandals in the 5th century, much of Leptis Magna remained buried beneath the desert until the early years of the 20th century, when the Italian government began excavating the ruins. What they found defied the imagination, a complete Roman city preserved by the sand. Everything about Leptis Magna is on a grand scale, from the Severan Arch to the marble and granite panelled Baths of Hadrian, the largest outside Rome. The city was opulence on a grand scale with multicoloured marbles imported form Italy, Greece and Asia and huge granite columns from Egypt. We will also pay a visit to the almost completely intact structure of the gladiators ‘Circus’ Later we check in at our simple accommodation at Al-Khoms.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

This morning, in addition to revisiting the main site of Leptis Magna and then a visit to the museum. After lunch we leave Leptis Magna and head eastwards on an afternoon drive to Sirt, now home to Libya’s government ministries and Parliament.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

Today we have a full day’s drive further east along the coastal road and across to Benghazi. On today’s drive, our main point of interest is a visit to the site at Sultan, once famed for its ‘marble arch’. Historically marking the border between the Ancient Phoenicians and Greeks, the arch today is broken into several pieces, but still remains an important reminder of a turbulent period in the country’s ancient past. We continue on from here to Benghazi, the second capital of Libya. Once coveted by Romans, Turks, Arabs and Italians, much of the old city was badly damaged during the Second World War and the post-war construction has resulted in a much more modern feel.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

En route to Susa we visit Ptolemais, one of the great Pentapolis cities, much of which is yet to be excavated, our guided tour will reveal the main monuments that have been unearthed on this vast site. The huge cisterns, without doubt the most important visible attraction, were the largest in North Africa. We then arrive at Qasr Libya also known as the Libya Palace. Set on a hillside surrounded by pine trees we have the opportunity to view some remarkably well preserved Byzantine mosaic panels which were discovered inside its eastern church. Finally we arrive at Susa, the gateway to the ancient cities of Cyrenaica.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

We have a full day to explore the magnificent archaeological remains of Cyrene (Shah’hat) and Apollonia (Sousa), two of the five ‘Pentapolis’ cities. We start with a guided tour of Cyrene, the second most important site in Libya after Leptis Magna. Surrounded by pine forest, the site dates back to the 7th century BC, founded by Greek adventurers who came from Santorini Island. By the 5th century BC it was one of the largest cities in Africa. Following the fall of the Greek Empire, the city was ruled by Ptolemy from Egypt and then passed into Roman hands and incorporated into the Roman Empire. Cyrene’s cultural influences and historical events are reflected in the ruins of the Temples of Zeus and Apollo, the Gymnasium, the Great Baths, the vast area of the Agora, the Greek Theatre and the Acropolis. We then descend from the mountains to the Mediterranean coast and the remains of Apollonia. Originally Cyrene’s harbour and impressively located on the edge of the sea, the city became the capital of Upper Libya as Cyrene declined, following its destruction after the Jewish revolt of 115AD.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

Continuing to follow the coast we head for the Egyptian coastal resort of Mersa Mutrah today. Travelling via the town of Tobruk, a name synonomous with the struggle for the supremacy of North Africa during the Second World War, we hope, if time permits, to stop and visit one of the war cemeteries, a poignant reminder of Libya’s more recent history. Nothing much remains of old Tobruk as it was mostly reduced to rubble during the famous battle and was part of the campaign that changed the course of the war for the British Forces. Crossing the border into Egypt, we continue along the coast, to the small town of Mesa Matruh, encircling a charming bay overlooking the turquiose waters of the Mediterranean. Once an important port for Greek pilgrims travelling to consult the oracle at Siwa, the town today is a summer retreat on the road to Alexandria.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

Close by is the aptly named ‘Rommels Cave’, which during the war housed Rommel’s headquarters for a time during the North Africa campaign. The cave has now been converted into a small museum dedicated to the ‘Desert Fox’. After visiting the cave if time permits, we continue to El Alamein, a tiny village made famous by the pivotal tank battle that raged around it for eleven days in October 1942. Although Winston Churchill’s comment that ‘before Alamein we never had a victory; after Alamein we never had a defeat’ is not completely accurate, it is true that Alamein became a turning point in World War II, as the relentless progress of Germany’s Afrika Korps towards British Egypt and the strategically important Suez Canal was finally halted by the Allied Eighth Army at Alamein. Soon afterwards the Axis armies of Germany and Italy were forced to evacuate from Tunisia, leaving the Allies in full control of North Africa. We visit the sombre, war graves of the British and Commonwealth Cemetery, where 7,000 white headstones commemorate the dead, and also visit the small El Alamein museum – a chance to learn more about the battle and strategic importance. Then it is on to Alexandria, our final destination for today.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

Alexandria is a city of legends and myths. Shown to him in a dream by Homer, it was founded in 331BC by Alexander the Great and intended to link the two great empires of the Pharoahs and the Greeks. The city soon became a crossroads for trade and culture and a centre for art and philosophy, culminating in the foundation of the famous library. It was home to Ptolemy and Cleopatra and the site of one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world, the Pharos lighthouse. Today the main focus of the city lies in the long waterfront and the central area known as Ramla and this morning we intend to take a tour of this unusual city. We visit Fort Quait Bey, built in the 1480’s on the site of the ancient lighthouse. Some of Egypt’s finest architecture is on show at the 2nd century A.D. catacombs of Al-Shogafa, evidence that the worship of the ancient gods carried on way past the era of the Pharaohs. We also visit the fine white marble Roman theatre.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

This morning we visit the monastery of the Coptic churches of Wadi Natrun before finally arriving in Cairo, arguably the greatest city in Africa for the past millennium. Described as “The Mother of the World” it is a city of contrasts, where the ancient and the modern vie for space in Africa’s largest capital and probably its most diverse city. On arrival in Cairo we check-in to our hotel and the rest of the afternoon is free for personal exploration, or perhaps some shopping in Cairo’s famous Khan al Khalili, with its narrow alleys full to overflowing with shops and bazaars.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

In the 12th century an Arab historian once said, “all things fear time, but time fears the Pyramids”. Today we get a chance to see why as we visit the last remaining wonder of the ancient world, the Pyramids of Giza. The Great Pyramid of Cheops is the largest of the group (originally 145m high with a square base 232m). Second is the Pyramid of Chephren (136m high, width 210m), and third, Mykerinos, the smallest of the group. The complex also includes the Sphinx, a crouching lion with a human head carved from solid rock. Afterwards we will visit the Egyptian Museum, encompassing all aspects of the world of the Ancient Egyptians containing, as it does, some 120,000 items, from ornate jewellery to towering granite statues and, of course, the treasures of Tutankhamen himself.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

Included meals: Breakfast