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The Agora was the main public square at the centre of Cyrene. It contains many of the city's finest civic buildings, temples and monuments. It is located directly to the west of the Gymnasium, beyond the Odeon.
Outside the southern perimeter wall of the Gymnasium is a sprawling area of ruins known as the House of Jason Magnus. During the 2nd century AD it belonged to the high priest of the Temple of Apollo, Claudius Tiberius Jason Magnus. It must once have been a magnificent palace, and there are still extensive marble floors and mosaics, including a complete Four Seasons mosaic, which is now protected by an aluminium roof.
The first area you will probably see when you enter Cyrene is known as the Ptolemaion. It is a large rectangular enclosure surrounded by porticos. It was the Greek Gymnasium or sports ground and later became the Roman Forum. At its eastern end is the grand gateway, which you will see on your right as you walk up the path from the ticket office.
Sabaratha's Curia, or Senate House, stands on the northern side of the Forum. It was built in the 4th century AD and was the meeting place for the city's magistrates and senators. The floor of the courtyard is covered with mosaics.
The forico or public toilets attached to the Seaward Baths at Sabratha are similar to those at Leptis Magna. They have marble bench seats, where rows of citizens would once have sat above a stream of flowing water, running down to the sea.
The Seward Baths were the largest of Sabratha's public baths. They overlook the sea and still have superb mosaic floors, with colourful, geometric patterns. In front of the baths is a beautiful headless statue.
The Flavius Tullus Fountain stands in front of the Antonine Temple. The now headless statue of Flavius Tullus is a tribute to a wealthy citizen who in the 2nd Century AD commissioned an aqueduct to supply water to Sabratha.
The Temple of Serapis at the western end of Sabratha, is believed to be one of the oldest buildings there. It shows links with ancient Egypt, as Serapis was a healer and miracle worker originally worshipped in Memphis, Egypt.
Usually, when you ask people about Benghazi the first words they say are "dirty" and "smelly". But, I was pleasantly surprised when I spent a few days here to find that it was actually a very nice city and a great base for exploring the ancient ruins of Cyrenaica. It was renamed Bani Ghazi meaning sons or clan of Ghazi, after a local holy man, Sidi Ghazi, who died here in 1450. Following the Italian occupation in 1911, it became their colonial administrative centre and at one time the city had more than 20,000 Italian residents. Many of Benghazi's most impressive buildings, like the Old Town Hall and former Cathedral, were built during this period, in Italianate style.Benghazi is Libya's second city with a population of just under one million. It was founded by the Ancient Greeks and you can still see the ruins of their city of Berenice next to the Old Lighthouse. The most interesting...
At one time Sabratha's theatre seated an audience of 5,000. It was originally built in 190 AD, during the reign of Emperor Commodus, and reconstructed in the 1920s by the Italian archaeologist, Giacomo Guidi. The auditorium measures 95m across, but the most impressive feature is its the magnificent, three-tiered scaenae fons or stage wall. It stands 25 m high and is supported by 108 Corinthian columns. The stage itself is 43m long and has a breadth of 9m. The front of the stage is decorated with carved panels depicting various classical fugures, including the Nine Muses, the Three Graces and Hercules.
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Q: Hello there. I'm not visiting Libya soon but was just curious to know if there were new visa regulations introduced with the new...
A: I think they first would need a new government !
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