Our trip from Cairo or Tunis or vice versa can be joined in either city. For those joining in Tunis the daily itinerary below can be followed in reverse.
Days 1 - 4 With almost 20 million people Cairo is a hectic, chaotic city. Our first day includes a visit to the Sphinx and Pyramids of Giza, with a local guide (this also includes a camel ride around the Pyramids), and a visit to the Egyptian History Museum in the afternoon. Entry fee and an Egyptologist guide is included. From Cairo we head up to the Mediterranean coast town of 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.
Then we drive along the coast to visit the war cemeteries at El Alamein. 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.
Days 5 - 8 From El Alamein we cross over into Libya to Apollonia where we visit Tobruk, the scene of some of the most important and vicious 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 25kms of fortified trenches and battle remains that circled the town. From Tobruk it is a short drive to 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.
Days 9 - 15 We drive along the Mediterranean coast with plenty of opportunities to freshen up with a swim from one of the many deserted beaches. Leptis Magna 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. We now drive down to Al Qaryat to cross the Hamadat al-Hamrah desert to 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 its labyrinthine alleyways. You can also venture out of town and climb one of the sand dunes to view the spectacular sunsets. Then we move on to 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.
Days 16 - 21 From the desert border into Tunisia we head north to Remada and on to visit Matmata, well known for its troglodyte villages. Continuing travelling via Kebili 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 while in Tunisia 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. We drive up to Le Kef, a mountainous village dominated by its 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.
En route we visit the old Roman city of Haidra which is very close to the Algerian Border Our final stop is Dougga, the largest and most dramatic Roman site in Tunisia, before heading into the city of Tunis.
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. Or why not continue on and finish in Istanbul? See our Oasis Caravan trip for more info. Oasis Caravan
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