Libya

sucksssssssssssssssssss

I love Libya

Its a perfectly preserved World Heritage site

The city appears to have been founded by Phoenician colonists sometime around 1100 BC, although it didn’t achieve prominence until Carthage became a major power in the Mediterranean Sea in the 4th century BC. It nominally remained part of Carthage’s dominions until the end of the Third Punic War in 146 BC, and then became part of the Roman Republic, although from about 200 BC onward it was for all intents and purposes an independent city. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leptis_Magna

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…

For information on, and images of, the Fezzan, in south-west Libya, have a look at these sites, which focus on archaeology:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fezzan/
http://www.cru.uea.ac.uk/~e118/Fezzan/fezzan_home.html

LYBIA IS OK! I HAVE BEEEN HERE DURING THE WAR SO ITS OK

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!

I lived in Libya for three years as a child. I have fond memories of terrific beaches and roman ruins on the coast. We visited a place that had been used as a prison, where the prisoners painted enormous murals using blood. I wish I knew more about that place, as I haven’t found it mentioned on the Internet or in any guidebooks.

Libyans are, as a group, the most friendly and hospitable people I’ve ever met. They’re so honest that merchants regularly leave their shops open and unattended in order to visit their friends, down the street. There are many sites to see, but the most worthwhile thing to do in Libya is to make friends! (And don’t miss the beach!)