Africa : Libya

Within the boundaries of Libya lies a wealth of the grandest Roman ruins outside of Italy. All but two tiny fractions of Libya are covered by the Sahara: Tripolitania in the northwest and Cyrenaica in the northeast. Tripolitania is Libya's most important agricultural region and its most populated area. Tripoli, Libya’s capital city and chief port, was founded by Phoenicians around the seventh century BC. Once predominantly Berber, now Tripoli is a multicultural city that includes Italians, Greeks, Jews, and sub-Saharan Africans.

Seventy-five miles from Tripoli is the immense Roman city of Leptis Magna, a city that rivaled Rome in splendor, architecture, and wealth. Like many other Mediterranean ports, Leptis was founded by the Phoenicians as a trade center. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Leptis is considered one of the greatest Roman sites in the Mediterranean; its spectacular architecture includes monumental arches, huge marble and granite baths, shrines, forums, and amphitheaters. Roman emperor Septimus Severus was born here and lavished his attention and the resources of the empire on the city.

With the lifting of the two-decades-long travel restrictions to Libya in early 2004, American travelers can now rediscover her spectacular sites and rich cultural history.

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