Everything's Gone Green


Everything’s Gone Green
The Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya has undergone something of a renaissance in the last couple of years. Gone are the days of sanctions, pariah status and general avoidance. All the Sunday supplements have featured it, exclusive tour operators are offering packages and Lonely Planet readers have even started to whinge about it. This year, Footprint have led the way with the first guidebook and it is entirely possible to visit independently.

	So why would anyone want to visit what is essentially a huge expanse of desert? Ask the average man in the street of his image of Libya and he will likely respond with something about "mad dog" Gadaffi (© Ronnie "model of sanity" Reagan). Indeed, there are so many images of the Colonel in Libya that it is often said that there are 10 million Libyans - 5 million people and 5 million Gadaffis. Libya has been in the news a lot recently, what with the Lockerbie trial, Gadaffi's role in freeing the Abu Sayyaf hostages in the Philippines and David Shayler's claim that MI6 attempted to assassinate Gadaffi. In the eighties, sponsorship of terrorism (or freedom fighters, depending on your point of view) led to UN sanctions and US bombing raids. Much to the annoyance of the west, Nelson Mandela made Tripoli his first foreign trip following his release, to thank Gadaffi personally for his long-running support for the ANC. The sanctions have now been suspended and the oil-rich country is now coming in from the cold.
From 1911 to 1951 Libya was an Italian colony, the influence of which can be seen in some of the architecture in Tripoli. From 1951 to 1969 it was a nominal kingdom with British and French mandates, surviving on the sale of scrap metal left over from the war and rent from foreign airbases. Then came the discovery of oil, the revolution led by a 27 year old Gadaffi and years of eccentricity. Libya now is the highest ranked country in Africa on the UN human development index - 64^th overall, and higher than Russia, Saudi Arabia and South Africa. Gadaffi used the oil money to fund education and health programmes and in 1976 published his Green Book and introduced the world to the Third Universal Theory, with such classic quotes as: "It is an undisputed fact that both man and woman are human beings. But why are there man and woman? After all, what is the difference between man and woman? Woman is a female and man is a male. According to a gynaecologist, woman suffers feebleness every month, while man, being a male, does not." "Sport is like praying, eating, and the feeling of warmth and coolness. The thousands who crowd stadiums to view, applaud and laugh are those foolish people who have failed to carry out the activity themselves. They line up on the shelves of the sports grounds, practising lethargy."
But there's more to Libya than Gadaffi: what of the other 5 million and all that sand? 95% of the population lives along the thin coastal strip and the remainder of the country is mainly empty. However, it is home to some interesting superlatives: the world's highest recorded temperature (55°C), the world's quietest place, the best dunes in the Sahara, the best Roman ruins in the Mediterranean and the world's highest road fatality rate (for which Gadaffi has designed the world's safest car, implausibly named the Rocket).
Apart from the souq, Tripoli has little in the way of sights. The souq is situated in the old town along with the castle and national museum. Compared with other countries in North Africa it is a relaxed place with no pressure to buy anything and no haggling over prices - a pure joy. Many a carefree hour can be spent looking around and popping in for a cup of mint tea and a shiisha (hubble bubble) when the retail therapy gets too much. Tripoli is useful for stocking up on dinars - we only discovered one foreign exchange bank outside of Tripoli and, contrary to what you may hear, the black market is effectively non-existent now. This makes Libya a cash-only country but it is entirely safe to carry huge wads of notes around. Tripoli is also the place to book internal flights which have now been reinstated and to enquire about trips into the interior.
The ruins of Leptis Magna, the Roman city built in the first century AD, can be seen as a day trip from Tripoli. They cover an immense area, are completely deserted and are amazingly well preserved. The forum, the market and the baths are striking but the most impressive sight is the amphitheatre overlooking the Mediterranean with your own private beach to enjoy afterwards. There are other Roman ruins at Cyrene and Sabratha but those at Leptis are the most spectacular. Leptis was ruled by Septimus Severus, whose arch serves as an entrance to the site. He has been treated more kindly by history than the ruler of Cyrene, who had the unfortunate Pythonesque name Arcilias!
A day's drive south of Tripoli lies Sabha, the "capital" of the Sahara and gateway to the Akakus. From there or Germa it is possible to hire a jeep and a driver and head off into the great beyond. The Obari lakes and attendant dunes provide classical shots of palm-fringed oases and Tuareg nomads herding their camels. The Akakus lies between here and Ghat, the small town at the junction of Libya, Algeria and Niger. In 1822, the Scottish traveller Hugh Clapperton visited the region and found it rather tiresome:
“Saturday 21^st Fresh breezes and clear Sunday 22^nd The Dr taken ill with head aches and pain in the bones Monday 23^rd Clear and cool Tuesday 24^th Cool and clear. The Dr better Wednesday 25^th Clear and cool. The Dr a great deal worse Thursday 26^th Clear and cool. The Dr no better…”
While Obari has dunes, the Akakus has sandstone rock formations which conceal the best rock art in the Sahara. There are several different styles dating from 9000 BC to 0 AD. There are pictures of elephants, giraffes, bison, chariots, crocodiles, men with spears, Tuareg script and of course camels. All these go to show that the Sahara hasn't always been desert and was indeed lush and tropical at one point. Another few years of the Bush administration's environment policies should turn the rest of the planet into a new Akakus so we won't have to go so far to see our rock art. With the exception of the road to Ghat, there are no roads or infrastructure in the Sahara, never mind signs, but the drivers somehow manage to find the sites. They've been preserved by the desert air for thousands of years but there are no controls on their access and visitors are free to clamber on the rocks and do as they please. There are even depressing examples of budding 20^th century rock artists added adding their own touches.
Directly north of Ghat lies the ancient slave-trading town of Ghadames. It is possible to drive there in a straight line but it is several days of arduous off-road travel so most people backtrack to Sabha and Tripoli. In the eighties the government built a new town and the inhabitants deserted the adobe old town for a brave new world of concrete and satellite TV. The old town is now a UNESCO world heritage site which is currently being restored to its former glory. It is the most touristy place in Libya - there are three restaurants and one bus a day. A couple of the old houses have been turned into unofficial museums which the owners are more than happy to show visitors around. Traditionally light entered through a hole in the roof and was spread around the house by the numerous mirrors on the walls. The women were restricted to the upper floors and only allowed out at dawn or dusk when the men were at prayer. After all it is an undisputed fact that both man and woman are human beings.

Factbox · Flights. It is now possible to fly direct from London to Tripoli on BA but it is cheaper to fly to Tunisia then go overland from there. Libyan Arab Airlines fly from Tripoli to Sabha and Benghazi for about £10 one-way (as with Iran, the abundance of oil makes internal flights very cheap). · Visas. It is necessary to get an invitation in order to get a visa. For independent travellers, there are very few people who can arrange this in the UK but operators in Italy, Germany and France are more used to this kind of thing. One British source is Mustapha Bughrara in Portsmouth, 01705 362835, mbughrara@hotmail.com. · Accommodation. There are very few hotels in Libya, even in Tripoli where they all have a habit of being booked out by the regular trade fairs. There are a few extremely basic and inconveniently located youth hostels. In Ghadames it is possible to do a home stay and in the desert you'll need a tent although there are a couple of luxury camp sites. · Transport. Long distance travel is by government bus, private bus or shared taxi. Desert trips with jeep, driver, food and tents can be arranged for about $100 a day.

	Resources: · Azema, James, "Footprint Libya Handbook", Bath, Footprint, 2001. · Clapperton, Hugh, "Difficult and Dangerous Roads", London, Sickle Moon, 2000. · National Geographic November 2000 · Qathafi, Muammar Al, "The Green Book", Tripoli. Available online at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/8744/readgb.htm · Scott, Chris, "Sahara Overland", Hindhead, Trailblazer, 1999. Offers tips for the fly-drive holiday maker, such as how to condense your radiator fluid into drinkable liquid. See also www.sahara-overland.com
Back to Travel Tales