Magnificently sited on the water’s edge of the palm fringed white sandy west coast of Libya and North Africa, the ancient seaport city of Sabratha shines majestically as one of the most beautiful and spectacular Roman cities of the ancient Mediterranean.
Originally founded as a trading post by the Carthaginians around 500 BC, Sabratha’s importance and wealth attracted settlement by Hellenistic Greeks around the second century BC. With the rise of the Roman Empire, Sabratha continued to prosper and grow under the Empire’s influence and most of the ruins seen today are a legacy of that period.
The ancient theatre is perhaps the most graceful and spectacular of the ancient Roman world and the mosaics of the Roman and later Byzantine eras are also very impressive. Sabratha is one of the three cities of ancient Tripolis, which included Leptis Magna and Oea (Tripoli) and is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The complete Sabratha image gallery.
All images, text and content are copyright Steven Sklifas.
Steven Sklifas 