Susah Travel Guide

 Luchonda Says:  While the ancient Greek port of Apollonia has had much of its structures disappear from landslides, like the great earthquake of 365, it remains a very attractive place, although not that impressive as Leptis Magna, Sabratha and Cyrene itself. 

 grets Says:  By making poor Jean get into the Baptistry, you can see exactly how deep it is! Thankfully there was no water in it at the time, otherwise I would have had to make do with a person-less picture. 

 grets Says:  In its heyday, the Eastern Church was the biggest in all of Cyrenaica. Many of the original marble columns still stand - the cipolin marble was imported from the Greek island of Paros. The granite used in the nave was transported from Egypt, most probably Aswan. 

 grets Says:  The original Greek theatre had initially just 13 rows of seats, and was vastly extended during the Roman time to its current size today. It has a beautiful setting overlooking the sea. 

 grets Says:  On the hillside leading down to the water's edge, you can find the Customs House. If you walk down onto the beach itself, you can see niches and shelves cut into the rock - these were used for the storage of goods waiting to be shipped out or just having arrived by boat.... 

 grets Says:  This strange looking building is in fact the quarry where the Romans would have obtained their stones for the construction of the city from. After the earthquake of AD 365, the lighthouse was moved atop this rock. 

 grets Says:  The symbol of the P with a cross below, now used to represent Christianity, was once the symbol of Justinian. His wife was a Christian, and while he tolerated her religion, he was happy to remain a pagan, depite his wife's gentle persuasions. One night he was told in a dream... 

 grets Says:  This section of the palace was used exclusively during festivals and other celebrations. 

 grets Says:  This private palace was built for the first governor of Aploonia, Ecobelius, who came from Lebanon. He brought Theodora with him (Justinian's wife) to live with him. The palace has 83 rooms and is the biggest palace in Cyrenia. There were libraries, waiting rooms, dinig... 

 grets Says:  The baths date from the 2nd century AD with the columns on the eastern side having Roman capitols dating from year AD 138. The drums in the columns are Greek. 

 grets Says:  Here by the altar you can see the symbol of the cross cut into the column. If you think it bears a resembleance to the Maltese Cross, you are not wrong. This was the cross that was commonly used in the Justinian time. When the eight bishops met in Malta, they sat around... 

 grets Says:  The globes atop these columns are not Christian in origin, rather they are Jewish, indicating that the building was once used as a Synagogue. 

 grets Says:  The marble columns of the Central Church date back to the 6th century AD, whereas the stone columns are even older - from the 4th century AD. The marble floor here is quite well preserved. 

 grets Says:  This shows the Total Immersion Baptism Font, as used by John the Baptist. It is a good five feet deep, with steps leading down into it for easy access. 

 grets Says:  Here in the altar of the Western Church you can see some remnants of mosaic flooring. The whole florr would have been covered with marble and / or mosaics. 

 grets Says:  The Western church ahs Roman pillars which were later utilized by the Byzantines in later constructions. The church would have been covered with a wooden roof and have had a marble floor. You can still see some fragments of mosaics on the floor in the baptistry in the... 

 grets Says:  Being on the coast, there is a bitterly cold wind blowing from the sea. We had been warned before we left home about the low temperatures and the cold wind, so we came prepared with warm jackets, hat and gloves. Other people had packed more for Caribbean-like weather and...