« Abbey roof thefts ..... | Main | Civil Service incompetence .... »

November 16, 2007

Roman Libya

My only real regret about my trip to Libya is that there simply wasn't the opportunity to visit a number of really magnificent Roman cities. Mersa Brega was simply too far from anything to get to them. The one plus was that I had several hours to kill in Tripoli on the way home - so Sixty Dinar to a taxi driver for a short tour of the Old City turned up some really interesting sights - enough to make me want to go back there if I can ever manage it.

There is very little of the original Roman city left, little more than the beautifully decorated Arch of Marcus Aurellius in the heart of the "Old City". Later conquerers have all left their mark, the Knights of Malta, the Selucids and finally the Ottoman Turks. Then, in the twentieth century the Itallians tried to recreate the Punic Empire and now there seems to be a re-awakening of the realisation that tourist dollars are as important as oil. That said, there is a lot to be done before this city really has all its treasures ready for show.

Roman arch.JPG
The Arch of Marcus Aurelius, the carving looking almost as if it is barely a few hundred years old yet it is closer to two thousand years since this was first erected.

The Roman city died sometime in the sixth century AD, to be replaced by a local growth and then by the Arab invaders that swept through here in the 8th and 9th Centuries. The Knights of Malta (Or to give them their full title - The Knights Hospitallers of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem) established an outpost here from which to harry shipping under Islamic control in the 15th and 16th Centuries. This lasted until they were dislodged by the armny of Suliman the Magnificent and confined to the island of Malta. The massive city bastions and citadel give testimony to this turbulent history.

Citadel Tripoli.JPG
The Citadel built by the Knights of Malta, and now sheltering the Souk or market.

Interesting as it is, Tripoli is not what I would really like to see in this fascinating country. To the west, about a hundred and twenty kilometres along the coast lies Leptis Magna - a perfectly preserved Roman City. Inland lies yet another, a magnificent testimony to Roman engineering. In the East, lie Sirte and east of Benghazi, the Roman town of Cyrene, mentioned as the home of Simon of the Cross.

I can see I will have to find a way to go back and visit these places ........

Posted by The Gray Monk at November 16, 2007 11:56 AM

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://mt3.mu.nu/mt/mt-tb.cgi/5231