Visiting Apollonia

A large tomb on the southern  edge of Cyrene.

As we approached the inhabited city of Shahat, we turned north and came across the first of a series of man-made caves. A gate protected this cave and we could see clearly that it had at one time likely served as a large tomb. Even though we were high in the mountains, the cave was full of water, which explained one of the reasons that the Greeks had built in this location. As we travelled, we began to see hundreds of small caves – we were travelling through a necropolis. The old city of Cyrene is surrounded by tombs, thousands of which have been documented. As we approached the city center, the partly excavated and restored remains of the city became visible.  Cyrene had been built upon a hill with a beautiful panoramic view of the Mediterranean far below.

 

Former Italian administrative center in Susa.

Passing through the ruins of the central city, we wound our way down the steep slope and past hundreds of additional tombs on the side of the hill. Many had been carved into the stone, while some had been created as above ground sarcophagi. First built by the Greeks in the 6^th century BCE, these graves were added to by the Romans and Byzantines and even served as residences for nomadic peoples at a later date.

 

Tomb ruins in the harbor at Apollonia.

Driving down the slopes, the seaport city of Apollonia began to come into view. This was the active port city that the Greeks had used as a trade center to support Cyrene and to export goods to other parts of the known world.

 

Roman statue by the Western Church.

On the outskirts of Apollonia is the modest city of Susa, made up of small one- and two-story concrete buildings that house the city’s occupants.  One of the few remaining older buildings of any note is the Italian Parliament building, which served as a regional administrative center during the Italian occupation.

 

The only building of any size was the multi-storied Al-Manara Hotel, just west of the entrance to the old ruins of Apollonia and immediately next to some of the old tombs that have been turned into a garden area.

 

Column remains of the Central Church.

Entering Apollonia, we immediately encountered the remains of the first of several Byzantine churches. This was the Western Church; several green stone Byzantine columns remain of what used to support a wooden roof. Parts of the floor mosaics were still visible as well.

 

Slightly east of the Western Church was the Central Church, with its white pillars adorned by Byzantine crosses. Just north of this church was a Byzantine Bath, parts of which are at the shore of the Mediterranean.  Looking into the water, we saw parts of the city that slipped into the sea during the great earthquake and tsunami of 365 ACE. That quake destroyed most of the harbor of Apollonia.

Ruins of the Byzantine Duke's Palace.

 

East of the Central Church were the ruins of the Roman Baths, which was built in the 2^nd century ACE.  Not particularly large, it was easy to see the partly restored pools of this building and the attached gymnasium.

Just north on a slight rise were the ruins of what is referred to as the Byzantine Duke’s Palace, the largest of the structures that have been excavated at Apollonia. The restoration makes the library, throne room and private chapel clearly visible.

 

Remains of the Eastern Church at Apollonia.

According to the Lonely Planet Guide for Libya, the eastern wing of the Duke’s residence contains 83 separate rooms for servants, administrators, and soldiers.  We didn’t count them.

 

Northeast of the Duke’s Palace were the remains of the Eastern Church, which was the largest church in Cyrenaica. This structure can be identified by its huge marble columns, which were shipped from the Greek island of Paros.

 

Greek Theater on the eastern edge of Apollonia.

Continuing to hike to the east, we came across a Greek theater that faces towards the Mediterranean, permitting spectators to enjoy the ocean breeze and allowing the sounds created by performers to be carried on the wind for better listening.  It was beautifully designed.  This area, like much of Apollonia, had not been fully excavated or restored and throughout the site the ground was littered with potshards and the occasional piece of Roman glass. Security at Apollonia is lax and local families picnic and have social gatherings throughout the site and on the beach. Unfortunately, they seldom removing the refuse from their activities at these beautiful ruins, so in addition to finding a bit of what looked like Roman glass, we also saw lots of bits of modern day broken bottles.