Libya - 5 October 2010 (1)

Leptis Magna

We all made it to breakfast this time.  The chemist next to the hotel opened just before we set off for a second visit to Leptis Magna so I was able to get some much needed drugs for my tummy.

Nymphaeum

Nymphaeum

There had been a change of plan which worked out well.  The main reason why I wanted to go on this tour was so that I could visit Leptis Magna and it would have been very disappointing if I had only been able to visit a fraction of the site.  The itinerary was for us to spend the morning in Leptis Magna and then drive on to Sirt for the night.  However, Sirt was hosting a meeting of African leaders and Gaddafi did not want to risk allowing a dodgy band of foreigners like us staying in the same town, even with Ali and Mahmoud keeping a close eye on us.  The new plan gave us a second night in Al-Khoms, with more time in Leptis Magna at the expense of a long 700km drive the following day all the way to Benghazi.

Severan Forum

Severan Forum

At Leptis Magna, Ruth got us tickets for the museum and Ali proved that he was not all bad by talking the security people into letting us into the main site with no extra charge.  Not wanting to lose any more time, I dashed off to the baths to continue the tour of the site from where I had left off the day before.  As a result, I was on my own for much of the time.  It was so nice to be able to explore and feel the atmosphere.  My wonderful comfortable sandals were made of narrow straps and went above my ankles, vaguely resembling the caligae worn by Roman legionaries in my Latin text books.  They helped me feel the part as I strolled down the Roman streets, although my skirt was a bit too long.

Head in Severan Forum

Severan Basilica

The Severan Forum was a wonderful building, but the Severan Basilica next door seemed to be acting as a store room for all sorts of rubble and unrestored stonework.  This made it difficult to enter, so I just stayed in the doorway and took photos from there.  Outside, the Via Colonnata was lined, not with columns, but with more rubble.  So much still remains to be restored!  Perhaps now it never will or, at least, not for a long long time.

Detail in Severan Basilica

East Wall of Severan Basilica

I walked down to the Curia and the other buildings close to the sea and then headed back towards the Old Forum, which had some good Ionic columns.  I spotted Anne and Robin nearby, but did not attract their attention as I was enjoying my solitary, leisurely exploration.  I walked up every street, which was not necessarily a good idea because I walked through a huge, hitherto undisturbed spider’s web as I walked down one of the streets.  It took a long time to get it off me and I still found bits much later when I had a rest in the museum.

Civil Basilica

I really liked the market place, which had enjoyed quite a lot of restoration work.  There were columns aplenty, many of which were linked into octagonal structures, making it very photogenic.

Ionic Columns of Old Forum

Anne and Robin caught up with me at this point and we made our way into the theatre, where we also met up with Heuly, Caroline and Vic.  It was pleasant to sit in the shade at the top of the theatre seating and look down at the many columns of the Temple of the Deified Emperors behind the stage.  I would have liked to have stayed there for longer, but we still had to visit the museum.

Byzantine Gate

Arches of Tiberius & Trajan plus Pylon

So we set off back to the entrance, passing through the Severan Arch and on to the museum.  Outside the museum was a mausoleum and a statue of Septimus Severus.  He was born in Leptis Magna, but died in York 1,800 years ago, so I felt a connection with him.

Market Place

Temple of the Deified Emperors

The museum was not air conditioned, so I still felt boiling hot as I walked around.  I passed a mirror at one point and my face was bright red.  I could have spent longer in the theatre because the museum turned out to be a disappointment.  There were lots of unnamed headless statues and lots of unnamed heads.  At least it was laid out well with a fixed route between rooms and a spiral ramp leading up to the first floor.  A large picture of Gaddafi dominated the wall of the atrium.  I had a brief rest at the top of the ramp and then continued on the tour.  After turning a corner, I spotted some guns in the display cases.  I’m sure they were not Roman!  Then I went down the other ramp and headed outside.

Temple of the Deified Emperors

Heuly, Umbrella & Theatre

I sat in a cool spot in the garden to sort myself out and then walked back to the main entrance where I spotted Kim and Sue in a café.  I bought some postcards and stamps and wrote the cards while enjoying a peach juice.  I was able to post the cards to my mum and dad there and then but, sadly, they never made it to Kent.  I kept the other two back as I was unsure of the postcodes and left them at the hotel.  They did make it to the UK – several weeks later.

Arch of Septimus Severus

Septimus Severus