Libya

Had a number of practical problems during my one-week tour with a French-speaking group: missing visa document, leading to delay and additional expense; mad guide (Hassan); paid-for hotel in Tripoli requisitioned by the State – but I enjoyed my stay and the Greek and Roman ruins enormously. One day I’ll go back, to visit the desert…

Re-booked for 8 April 2006 – third time lucky, I hope!

I want to see the Roman ruins at Leptis Magna and the Greek ones at Cyrene, and also my father was among the last British teenagers to do military service, which he did in Tripoli, I think in 1948/9, prior to Libya’s independence. I was supposed to be going last Christmas but at that time it was still necessary to get a visa before departure and have passports translated into Arabic, and I left it too late to do that (now it’s possible to get the visa on arrival and they’ve dropped the translation requirement). This year I booked in August for departure on 24 Dec., flights from my city being on Saturdays. And then on 24 Nov. they informed me the trip was cancelled. After trying and failing to find another for which there was still room on a flight, including via London or Zurich, I have ended up going to – Madeira! Well I am looking forward to it even if it doesn’t increase my “country” score!