After the overthrow and murder of the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya virtually ceased to function as a single state. Now dual power reigns in the country. This greatly spoiled the country’s reputation as a safe place, including for tourists. However, Libya has preserved a huge number of ancient cities and unique monuments, which today can be visited only by professional historians and archaeologists. One of these cities is Leptis Magna. It is the oldest surviving city of the ancient Roman period in Africa. We will tell about it in more detail in today’s post.
How to get to Leptis Magna
The ruins of the ancient city of Leptis Magna are located on the Mediterranean coast, 130 kilometers east of Tripoli in the city of Al-Khums. You can get here by bus from the bus station of Tripoli. Faster and more comfortable you will be if you take a taxi. Travel time to the Roman city will be a little more than 1.5 hours.
Information about Leptis Magna
Leptis Magna is the oldest city in Libya and the largest preserved ancient Roman city in Africa. The exact date of the founding of the city scientists could not be established. However, most of them agree that this happened around 1100 BC. Then the city was ruled by the Phoenicians and it played a huge role as the main seaport. Later, the Roman Empire came here and it was during this period that Leptis Magna experienced its best years of its heyday. The city reached its peak after 193, when the twentieth Roman emperor Septimius Severus, born in Leptis, led the empire. He took care of his hometown, and turned him into one of the richest cities in the Mediterranean and Roman Africa.
Today, in the ancient city, many unique objects have been preserved: buildings, temples, terms, an amphitheater, city gates and paved streets, columns, statues, mosaics and much more. The city is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Archaeologists and historians still work here.
Nearest Hotels to Leptis Magna
Near Leptis Magna, there are several hotels where you can stay. All of them are located literally within walking distance from the main entrance to the ancient city. Here are some of them:
- Anis Library;
- Almergeep Hotel;
- Al Hasanain Hotel;
- Mohamed Hassan Hotel.
If you want to stay in Tripoli, then the choice of hotels is much more. Accommodation here may be the most comfortable, both from the point of view of the service, and in terms of transport accessibility. Here are some hotels where you can stay:
- Victoria Hotel;
- Plasma Hotel Tripoli;
- Corinthia Hotel Tripoli;
- Four Seasons.
