Libya February 2010.

Libya has been in the news recently and one might get the impression that it is a dry barren desolate country with a leader that is past his use by date. Some aspects of this statement are true but I want to show you another side to Libya that we found which we were pleased to have seen and experienced.

My first blog in April 2010 covered a trip to Tunisia and Libya in January and February of that year. Recent events have encouraged me to revisit my albums and select some more of the best of Libya to upload here to show you a different side to the country.

Modern day Libya has been part of many different civilisations in the past with one being replaced by another – are we seeing another such change happening now?

Part 1:

The Phoenicians were followed by the Greeks then the Romans. A devastating earthquake and tsunami in 367AD put paid to most of the Roman cities along the Mediterranean although the Byzantines did do some rebuilding before the coming of Islam resulted in further sackings and the disappearance of more cities. In more recent times, the Italians ruled this part of North Africa in the first part of the 20^th Century before the Axis defeat in WW2. Libya is now in turmoil yet again.

Marcus Aurelius Arch, Tripoli

(Shot details: Canon 450D EF-S 10-22mm at 14mm,

f/4, 1/4s, ISO-800)

The Roman road from Alexandria to Tunis passed through such arches that were built to show of the wealth and power of local regional emperors. This one survives in Tripoli on the corniche not far from Green Square. Apart from the Libyan National Museum and the souk, both off to the side of the square, there is not much else of interest to keep one here.

North west of Tripoli are the magnificent ruins at Sabratha.

The coliseum at Sabratha.

(Shot details: Canon 450D EF-S 10-22mm at 17mm,

f/13, 1/250s, ISO-200)

Throughout Libya, extensive excavation and restoration took place during the Italian colonial period from 1926 to 1936.

Corinthian columns at Sabratha.



The Mediterranean at the Roman bath house, Sabratha.

The original toilet seats still place!

The water channel at your feet was to wash your hands as paper for other purposes was not available!

As one enters the site at Sabratha, first stop is the mosaic museum. I will let the pictures do the talking here.

Close up shot of a 2,000 year old mosaic.

Everywhere we went in Libya we were astounded by the the very large and well preserved mosaics, often in their original positions.

Time to move from Tripoli down to Gardames, about 650km by road in one day. Gardames was a very important town on the caravan route from the Sahara through to Mediterranean. On the way there were stops at Qasr al-Haj and Nalut.

The inside of the round "castle" or storehouse at Qasr al-Haj



Date palm trunks used for the doors.

The round storehouse  here was built in the second half of the 12th Century. There are 114 storerooms which families used until relatively recently.

Inside details.

Each storeroom had 2 levels. Large clay pots were used to store dates and olive oil whilst grain filled up the lower level - enough to sustain a family for a year, inshalla.

Storerooms at Nalut.



The oasis at Gardames

Gardames is, as mentioned before, an old Caravan town built around a very productive spring of clear cool water, still bubbling away. The town is near the borders with Algeria and Tunisia.

House from the outside of the old town of Gardames.



House interior with lunch set on the carpet, shoes at the door please.



Roof tops.

Once married, the women never went down onto the streets. There is a large network of paths that connect all parts of the old town on the tops of the buildings. This was the women's domain.


One the houses in the old town of Gardames.



Mosque

Old Gardames street.

In the summer, temperatures in the desert can get up to 50°C, which is rather too hot. In old Gardames, even when we were there in the winter, it was noticeably cooler in the streets and houses. The white colour of everything, narrow streets and covered communal areas meant that conditions were quite comfortable. Our guide in the photo above lived here until recently and hates the modern buildings built with oil money. I can appreciate his sentiments after having been given a great tour by him. Progress  - is it always better?

Diary quote, Sunday 7^th February 2010:  “Back to Tripoli at the Zumit Hotel after a somewhat hairy drive back. Libyan drivers have no clues about seatbelts, driving in lanes and (following) behind other vehicles.”

Part 2:

From Tripoli, Cyrenaica beckoned after a flight to Benghazi. There are many sites there which have also been excavated and restored to a certain extent. I have selected a few photos here to give you a further idea of the richness of the remains of the civilizations which occupied the eastern part of the country.

From Benghazi the first stop was Ptolemais before heading to Qasr Libya and Sousa for 2 nights.



Ptolemais. The cistern is under the large flat area here.



The cistern at Ptolemais



Mosaic at Qasr Libya



Small theatre at Cyrene



The Temple of  Apollo at Cyrene



Small church at Ras-al-Hilal

What is unusual about this small church are the many marble panels around the walls and on the floor. What has happened for centuries is that the best marble panels, tiles, columns and sculptures have been stolen, looted, call it what you like, and taken to Europe to be used in all sorts of buildings and displayed as trophies in museums. It was refreshing here to imagine what the church might have been like in its prime.


Cave on way back to Sousa from Ras-al-Hilal

Excavations in this cave and the use of C14 dating put human activity on the north coast of Africa back to 80 - 90,000 years ago.

After 2 nights at the Al Manara Hotel at Sousa we headed back to Benghazi which will never be a tourist town.

Benghazi was one of the main bases for Rommel's Afrika Corps in WW2. It was of course heavily bombed with many casualties. We requested a stop at one of the Commonwealth war cemeteries. We found some New Zealand graves here including one of a family connection to a person we know from Pleasant Point.


Benghazi war cemetery.

Part 3: This will round off our Libya trip with the visit to Leptis Magna - the largest and possibly one of the best excavations we saw in the country.

Leptis Magna is about one hour east of Tripoli and was the site a major city in Roman times. As many as 50,000 people may have lived here before the city was destroyed in the earthquake of 367AD.



The colosseum at Leptis Magna



The fish market



The Arch of Septimius Severus on the main road through Leptis Magna.

After the city was abandoned it was slowly covered with sand and dust over a period or around 1,500 years or more. You can see where the level of the ground is here now, several metres above the road.


Stones put back in place on a temporary basis. The covered of sand preserved to details on the faces here.



The reconstructed amphitheatre.

The main road from Alexandria to Tunis

Another view to show the extent of the sand which covered the city. Less than 10% has been excavated. Much is yet to be discovered and so long as it is covered up, things will stay as they are for a few centuries to come.

What I've tried to do here is to give the reader an idea of the beauties to be discovered in Libya. I hope you appreciate this side of the country which not too many from the west are aware of.

I am now signing off for several months as we travel in Europe for a month and relocate to China.