Looking at ancient Roman sites (this has been a bit of a theme with me over the past few years) + with the chance to see WW2 battlefields like el Alamein and Tobruk where my dad was during the Desert Campaign). At this point it was impossible to go to Libya unless it was with a tour group.
Outline from the Trip Notes: " ... some of the most mportant sites of the ancient world, travelling in the footsteps of the Phoenicians, Romans, Greeks and Egyptians as we cross three countries and untold civilizations, learning more about people and events that have shaped history as we go.
Day 1 - the metro to the magnificent ruins of Carthage which was founded about 814BC by the Phoenician Queen Dido. Carthage grew to be the most important and powerful trading centre on the Mediterranean and in the known world. The mighty fleet of hundreds of armed ships was an efficient deterrent against invaders for many centuries and its geographical situation as the gateway to Africa, made it a crucial strategic asset, which the Romans fought hard to attain. After the 3rd and final Punic war the Romans sacked Carthage in 146BC, destroyed much of the old town and set about constructing the Pro-Consular capital of Africa from the debris".
Extracts from my diary:
A tour round Carthage - the skill of the Phoenician's miliary harbour was amazing. (Check out Peter Connolly re: Punic Phoenician trireme sheds).
C just north of Tunis is quite spread out and is built over by quite alot of posh houses. Saw the Antonine Baths etc. Very pleasant and knowledgeable guide.
By the sea. Sun quite nice but it is not warm here. Just got out of UK in time - whilst I was at Heathrow the flights to Amsterdam were cx and we see from the news that Britian is once again in the grip of snow and that we were quite lucky to get out. PM caught the train to a lovely (albeit quite touristy) seaside village Sidi Bou Said in white and cobalt blue (bougainvillaea etc) - I was impressed by the mixture of people on the train from all sorts of areas. Teenagers like those everywhere trying to impress the girls and show off - much laughter all round from the assorted passengers over their French accents! We went into a traditional house - very large and interesting. Evening at a reasonably boring restaurant (NB to self - don't have a starter AND couscous). On way home saw some traditional folk dancing in front of the Arts & Crafts Theatre - apparently there's a festival on .... police pushing and shoving - as they do ....
(NB I might have a problem uploading all the images I want to .. as I made them high res - he ho! Technology eh?)
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