Tunis Caravan Days 1 – 6 Tunis is a safe and very easy city to explore. It has a fascinating old walled city, more commonly called the Medina, and is thankfully ignored by most of the package holiday tour operators. Tunis has a strong medieval Arab past and well worth spending a couple of days here before your trip begins. Also, the legendary city of Carthage is only a 30 minute bus or taxi ride from Tunis with it’s Greek and Roman past infused with power, cruelty, romance and decline.
Our first stop on leaving Tunis on Day 1 is Dougga, the largest and most dramatic Roman site in Tunisia, and possibly in North Africa. We continue after lunch for the short drive to Le Kef, a mountainous village dominated by it’s fortified Kasbah. We have a free day here as there are many short hikes and places of interest and Le Kef itself is a great place to relax. Only an hours drive south we visit the old Roman city of Haidra, very close to the Algerian Border, before carrying on to Tunisia’s main date growing region at the small oasis towns of Nefta and Tozeur where we have some free time to explore. These towns are closely linked with the mystical brotherhood of Sufism and over the next week in Tunisia and Libya we will pass numerous small white painted dome topped buildings which are the burial places of Marabouts – holy men and religious teachers who travelled to and from Mecca and organised Sufi schools.
Continuing travelling via Kebili we visit Matmata, well known for its troglodyte villages and then head South to Remada and the desert border with Libya.
Tunis Caravan Days 7 – 11 We cross the border into Libya at the small town of Nalut, which has an exceptional qasr (fortified granary reached though underground tunnel) clinging to a steep hillside as well as ancient olive oil presses. Our first major port of call in Libya is the UNESCO World Heritage listed oasis town of Ghadames. Situated on an ancient desert caravan route from West Africa there is believed to have been a town here for 5000 years. Here you can feel perfectly safe as you get lost in it’s labyrinthine alleyways. You can also venture out of town and climb one of the sand dunes to view the spectacular sunsets. We now cross the Hamadat al-Hamrah desert to Al Qaryat & then drive to Leptis Magna. This is one of the finest preserved Roman Cities and one of the few where you can actually still picture a living city. With colonnaded streets, a huge triumphal arch, a well preserved Roman harbour with quay side and warehouses still intact and much more, it is well worth investing in a local guide and enjoy the whole day exploring the city.
Tunis Caravan Days 12 - 15 We now drive along the Mediterranean coast with plenty of opportunities to freshen up with a swim from one of the many deserted beaches. Our next major stop is at the ancient Greek city of Cyrene. Established in the 7th Century BC it has an outstanding history having come under the rule of Alexander the Great as well as being rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian after destruction by a Jewish revolt. Plato was also a resident of Cyrene.
From Cyrene it is a short drive to Tobruk, the scene of some of the most important and viscous battles of WW 2. Here we visit the well kept Commonwealth Cemeteries, containing 6128 graves of mainly British, Australian, New Zealand and South African troops. We will also see some of the 25 kms of fortified trenches and battle remains that circled the town. Don’t forget to wear shoes here as some of the barbed wire still exists in the sand!
Tunis Caravan Days 16 - 21 From Tobruk we cross into Egypt and visit El Alamein. Winston Churchill said ‘Before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamain we never had a defeat.’ This was the turning point of the Second World War. It is well worth paying your respects at the cemeteries and visiting the excellent War Museum which documents Montgomery’s and Rommel’s momentous battles and it also houses much of the abandoned tanks and other armour. Next we stop at Alexandria where we can visit the old coffee houses or enjoy some of the excellent seafood or take a trip to the Catacombs in the eerie subterranean Roman Necropolis full of bizarre carvings and an ancient dining room for mourners! The beaches and diving here are also excellent with wrecks of Roman Galley’s, French Warships, German U-boats and Cleopatra’s Palace.
A half days drive away brings us to the bustling city of Cairo.
Tunis Caravan Day 22 – 26 The first day of your trip is spent in Cairo visiting the Sphinx and Pyramids of Giza with a local guide (this also includes a camel ride around the Pyramids), we also visit the Egyptian History museum in the afternoon – the camel ride, entry fees and the Egyptologist guide are included. After dinner we take the overnight train to Aswan - arguably the most attractive city on the Nile and a highlight of the trip. Here you can walk along the Corniche with its riverside restaurants, some of them floating, and enjoy tremendous views of the Nile cataracts. We spend two days here, which gives you enough time to take a trip out to the stone monuments of Abu Simbel built by the greatest of all Pharaohs, Ramses II. On the fourth day, you have the opportunity to enjoy the Nile River from a traditional felucca sail boat for a two day trip to Kom Ombo.
Tunis Caravan Day 27 – 29 It is then a short drive to Luxor where we join our truck and pitch tents for the first time. The campsite has a swimming pool and is our base for the next two days to explore the city. Both Luxor Temple and Karnak Temple are within easy walking distance. On our second day in Luxor we organise a trip by donkey to Valley of the Queens and Valley of the Kings. Here, the remarkably well-preserved tombs of Ramses II and Tutankhamun have coloured paintings and hieroglyphics that still seem fresh after 3000 years.
Tunis Caravan Days 30 - 34 We drive for a day and a half through the desert passing under the Red Sea and the Suez Canal where we may well see the amazing spectacle of huge ships seemingly passing through the desert sands. We will stop off at Mount Sinai and St. Catherine's Monastery which are deep in the desert. It was here, that Moses received the Ten Commandments. It is a great place, if a little cold, to camp the night and watch the sunrise. Nearby is Dahab, on the Red Sea Coast which is our base for the next couple of days. Here, you can snorkel or scuba dive to some of the best coral in the world or enjoy the Bedouin hospitality and just relax on the beach
Tunis Caravan Days 35 – 38 From Dahab we have a short drive to catch the ferry across the Red Sea to Aqaba in Jordan. From Aqaba we camp overnight in the desert at Wadi Rum - the desert headquarters of Lawrence of Arabia. This remote area is best viewed from the back of a camel, but there is also the chance to take a 4WD jeep safari deep into the desert. Petra - one of the main attractions in the Middle East is only a short drive away and is our next stop, this stone-carved city was only uncovered about 60 years ago after being forgotten for over 1000 years. Walking through an incredibly narrow, rocky defile brings you out to Petra's most famous site -The Treasury. The Nabataeans who carved this vast red city in 3 BC controlled the spice and slave caravans on their way to Arabia.
Tunis Caravan Days 39 – 45 From Petra we venture down to the lowest point on earth – The Dead Sea. Here, therapeutic mud baths and not so therapeutic mud fights are followed by an unusual swimming experience in this highly buoyant salt sea! In the late afternoon we have a short drive to Mt Nebo where we camp for the night with its dramatic views over Israel.
Syria is close by and our first stop in this fascinating country is the capital - Damascus. We spend three nights in this, the oldest inhabited city in the world. Syrians are among the most hospitable people you will ever meet. The country has a rich and varied history with the Egyptian, Roman, Babylonian and Persian Empires having all passed through here along with Jesus and his disciples! From Damascus we visit Crac de Chevaliers - an 800-year-old Crusader Castle - perched high on top of a mountain. Before leaving Syria our final destination is market town of Aleppo.
Tunis Caravan Days 46 – 53 From the Syria border our next major stop is at the visually powerful, windswept landforms of Cappadocia. Over the centuries houses, churches, fortresses and even underground cities have been carved into this eerily eroded volcanic rock. The Goreme Valley provides us with an astonishing setting in which to spend a few days investigating the region. We will take you to one of the underground cities where you can explore alone or with a guide this ancient and mysterious area!
We then head towards the Turkish coast and stop on the way at Saklikent Gorge where there is the opportunity to go river tubing. On the coast we stay at both Olympus and further up the Mediterranean coast at Olu Deniz. Our accommodation is tree houses and campsites and we spend the next couple of days relaxing on the beach. You can also take boat trips around the coast, tandem paraglide or hire small motor bikes
Tunis Caravan Day 54 - 58 We then travel via either Pamukkale where you can swim in warm, mineral-rich water, or take the more visually scenic route towards Marmaris and camp in the mountains. We visit the well known ruins Ephesus where we spend 2 nights. Built by the Greeks a thousand years before Christ and then rebuilt by the Romans, Ephesus boasts an amphitheatre that can seat 24000 and a harbour with no water - still in good condition after all these years. We then stop at the ruins of Troy before we cross the Dardanelle Straits and visit Gallipoli, where in World War I on this blustery and exposed peninsula, ANZAC and British Forces struggled unsuccessfully for nine horrendous months to dislodge Turkish troops from the hills above the beaches.
It is a moving experience to visit the war graves and battlegrounds where so much suffering and unnecessary loss of life took place. Australians and New Zealanders make a pilgrimage each year on ANZAC Day to pay their respects to their fellow countrymen who died here. We attend the dawn service on ANZAC Day.
It is about a half day drive from here to the final destination of our trip - the exiting and cosmopolitan city of Istanbul where we have our final night’s party! Istanbul as an amazing city and staying for a couple of days after the trip finishes to experience this safe and friendly city and paying a visit to at least the Aya Sofya Mosque, Topkapi Palace or the Grand Bazaar to name but a few is recommended. Our crew can provide you with details and information of hostels to stay at in the Sultanhamet area of central Istanbul. |
