Leptis Magna

Founded by the Phoenician Greeks sometime in the first millennium BC, and then raised to greatness by the Romans, who flocked to this coastal spot in western Syria to secure their strongholds in North Africa after the Carthage Wars, Leptis Magna is quite possibly the single most impressive ancient site in the country (sorry Cyrene!). While some sections of the old temples and peristyles here have been transferred to museums and parks in England, the majestic likes of the grand theatre, arches dedicated to Septimius Severus, the fortification walls, some early Roman basilicas, and the crumbling marketplace all still remain.