Tourism in Libya
Encyclopedia
Libya can be visited as part of an organized tour, or on a transit visa, obtainable in either Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
or Tunis
Tunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
.
Archeological Sites
Cultural tourismCultural tourism
Cultural tourism is the subset of tourism concerned with a country or region's culture, specifically the lifestyle of the people in those geographical areas, the history of those peoples, their art, architecture, religion, and other elements that helped shape their way of life...
is arguably Libya's biggest draw as a tourism destination. There are five UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the country, three of which are classical ruins. The Roman cities of Sabratha and Leptis Magna in Western Libya and the Greek ruins of Cyrene in the East are big tourist attractions. One of the attractions of Libya's archeological sites, is that they are not as heavily populated by tourists as are other ancient sites in North Africa and southern Europe.
Roman Sites
The Roman city of SabrathaSabratha
Sabratha, Sabratah or Siburata , in the Zawiya District in the northwestern corner of modern Libya, was the westernmost of the "three cities" of Tripolis. From 2001 to 2007 it was the capital of the former Sabratha wa Sorman District. It lies on the Mediterranean coast about west of Tripoli...
lies 80 km (49.7 mi) west of the capital Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
. The port was established as a Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
n trading-post around 500 BC. It later became part of the short-lived Numidian Kingdom of Massinissa before being Romanised and rebuilt in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. The city was badly damaged by earthquakes during the 4th century, and was rebuilt on a more modest scale by Byzantine governors. Besides the well preserved late 3rd century theatre, that retains its three-storey architectural backdrop, Sabratha has temples dedicated to Liber Pater, Serapis and Isis. There is a Christian basilica of the time of Justinian and remnants of some of the mosaic floors that enriched elite dwellings of Roman North Africa; the Villa Sileen near Al-Khoms is a good example. The mosaics are most clearly preserved in the coloured patterns of the seaward (or Forum) baths, directly overlooking the shore, and in the black and white floors of the theatre baths. There is a museum adjacent to the site which contains some excavated artifacts, whilst others are displayed at the National Museum in Tripoli.
Leptis Magna
Leptis Magna
Leptis Magna also known as Lectis Magna , also called Lpqy, Neapolis, Lebida or Lebda to modern-day residents of Libya, was a prominent city of the Roman Empire. Its ruins are located in Khoms, Libya, east of Tripoli, on the coast where the Wadi Lebda meets the sea...
is the largest Roman city in Libya, and its ruins are some of the most complete and best preserved in the Mediterranean. The city is arguably Libya's biggest tourist attraction. Leptis Magna was originally founded by the Phoenicians in the 10th Century BC. It survived the attention of Spartan colonists, became a Punic city and eventually part of the new Roman province of Africa around 23 BC. As a Roman city it prospered, with figures like Emperor Septimius Severus
Septimius Severus
Septimius Severus , also known as Severus, was Roman Emperor from 193 to 211. Severus was born in Leptis Magna in the province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary succession of offices under the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. Severus seized power after the death of...
as one of its emperors. The city was sacked by a Berber tribe in 523 AD, and later abandoned and reclaimed by the desert. Although it provided a source of building materials to various looters throughout history, it was not excavated until the 1920s. Today the site has many monuments still intact. The theatre is the most obvious, and has good panoramic views of the city from its upper tiers. The Hadrianic Baths are another attraction, and one of the pools, measuring 28 times 15 metre, remains intact. This bath house was one of the largest that was ever built outside Rome. The circus, nearly a kilometre away from the main site, remains still only partly excavated. At 450 by 100 metres, it was one of the largest in the entire Roman world. It is also the only one of its kind in Libya today. The Leptis Magna Museum of Leptis Magna contains many excavated artifacts, as well as recent discoveries such as five colorful mosaics created during the 1st or 2nd century AD.
Greek Sites
Although Cyrene was later incorporated into the Roman Empire, it was originally founded in 630 BC as a colony of the Greeks from the Greek island of TheraSantorini
Santorini , officially Thira , is an island located in the southern Aegean Sea, about southeast from Greece's mainland. It is the largest island of a small, circular archipelago which bears the same name and is the remnant of a volcanic caldera...
. 16 kilometers from Cyrene is the port of Apollonia
Apollonia, Cyrenaica
Apollonia in Cyrenaica was founded by Greek colonists and became a significant commercial centre in the southern Mediterranean. It served as the harbour of Cyrene, to the southwest...
(Marsa Sousa). The city promptly became the chief town of ancient Libya
Ancient Libya
The Latin name Libya referred to the region west of the Nile Valley, generally corresponding to modern Northwest Africa. Climate changes affected the locations of the settlements....
and established commercial relations with all the Greek cities, reaching the height of its prosperity under its own kings in the 5th century BC. Soon after 460 BC, it became a republic, and after the death of Alexander III of Macedon
Macedon
Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
(323 BC
323 BC
Year 323 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Longus and Cerretanus...
) it was passed to the Ptolemaic dynasty
Ptolemaic dynasty
The Ptolemaic dynasty, was a Macedonian Greek royal family which ruled the Ptolemaic Empire in Egypt during the Hellenistic period. Their rule lasted for 275 years, from 305 BC to 30 BC...
.
Ophelas, the general who occupied the city in Ptolemy I's name, ruled the city almost independently until his death, when Ptolemy's son-in-law Magas
Magas of Cyrene
Magas of Cyrene was a Greek Macedonian nobleman. Through his mother’s second marriage he was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty. He became King of Cyrenaica and he managed to wrestle independence for Cyrenaica from the Greek Ptolemaic dynasty of Ancient Egypt.-Family Background & Early Life:Magas...
received governorship of the territory. In 276 BC
276 BC
Year 276 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gurges and Clepsina...
Magas crowned himself king and declared de facto independence, marrying the daughter of the Seleucid king and forming with him an alliance in order to invade Egypt. The invasion was unsuccessful and in 250 BC
250 BC
Year 250 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Regulus and Longus...
, after Magas' death, the city was reabsorbed into Ptolemaic Egypt. Cyrenaica became part of the Ptolemaic empire controlled from Alexandria, and became Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
territory in 96 BC
96 BC
Year 96 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Ahenobarbus and Longinus...
when Ptolemy Apion
Ptolemy Apion
Ptolemy Apion or simply known as Apion was the last Greek Cyrenaean King and was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Ptolemy was Greek Macedonian and native Egyptian in descent...
bequeathed Cirenaica to Rome. In 74 BC the territory was formally transformed into a Roman province.
The archeological site lies near the village of Shahhat
Shahhat
Shahhat is a town in the District of Jabal al Akhdar in north-eastern Libya. Cyrene was located in the same area in ancient times. It is located east of Bayda....
. One of its more significant features is the temple of Apollo which was originally constructed as early as 7th century BC. Other ancient structures include a temple to Demeter and a partially unexcavated temple to Zeus. There is a large necropolis approximately 16 km between Cyrene and its ancient port Apollonia. The Cyrene Museum also lies on the site.
Tripoli
TripoliTripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
is the de facto capital of Libya and was once known as the "White Bride of the Mediterranean". Throughout history, the city exchanged hands many times, and several historic mosques and other sites in the medina
Medina
Medina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
attest to this. The Turkish and Italian colonial periods left a distinctive mark on the city's architecture.
Easily the most dominant feature of Tripoli is the Red Castle, Assaraya al-Hamra, which sits on the northern promontory overlooking what used to be the sea - a motorway and 500 m (1640 ft) of reclaimed land now separate the two. The large structure comprises a labyrinth of courtyards, alleyways and houses built up over the centuries with a total area of around 13,000 square metres (140,000 sq ft). Inside, there is evidence of all the city's (and thus the citadel
Citadel
A citadel is a fortress for protecting a town, sometimes incorporating a castle. The term derives from the same Latin root as the word "city", civis, meaning citizen....
's) ruling parties: the Turks, Karamanlis
Karamanli dynasty
The Karamanli or Caramanli or Qaramanli or al-Qaramanli dynasty was a series of Pashas, of Turkish origin who ruled from 1711 to 1835 in Tripolitania . At their peak, the Karamanlis' influence reached Cyrenaica and Fezzan covering most of Libya. The founder of the dynasty was Pasha Ahmed Karamanli...
, Spaniards, Knights of Malta
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
, Italians and several others who all left their presence in its arts and architecture.
The entrance to the Jamahiriya Museum is on Martyr's Square, next to the castle. These facilities were built in consultation with UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
at enormous cost, and the exhibits within are laid out chronologically, starting with prehistory and ending up with the revolution
History of Modern Libya
The history of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi spanned a period of over four decades from 1969 to 2011. Gaddafi became the de facto leader of the country on 1 September 1969 after leading a group of young Libyan military officers against King Idris I in a bloodless coup d'état...
. The most impressive parts are the mosaics, statues and artifacts from classical antiquity, which make up one of the best preserved collections in the Mediterranean.
The medina is the heart of Tripoli and provides the best sightseeing and shopping opportunities in the city for tourists. The basic street plan of the medina was laid down in the Roman period when the walls were constructed as protection against attacks from the interior of Tripolitania
Tripolitania
Tripolitania or Tripolitana is a historic region and former province of Libya.Tripolitania was a separate Italian colony from 1927 to 1934...
, and are considered well planned, possibly better than modern street plans. In the 8th century a wall on the sea-facing side of the city was added.
Three gates provided access to the old town: Bab Zanata in the west, Bab Hawara in the southeast and Bab Al-Bahr in the north wall; the city walls are still standing today. The Bazaar
Bazaar
A bazaar , Cypriot Greek: pantopoula) is a permanent merchandising area, marketplace, or street of shops where goods and services are exchanged or sold. The term is sometimes also used to refer to the "network of merchants, bankers and craftsmen" who work that area...
is also known for its traditional ware; jewellery and clothes can be found in the local markets. Unlike neighbouring countries, Libya is known for its lack of hassle in the souqs. The old walled city also contains virtually all of Tripoli's historic mosques, khans (inns), hammam
Hammam
A Turkish bath is the Turkish variant of a steam bath, sauna or Russian Bath, distinguished by a focus on water, as distinct from ambient steam....
s and houses. Other nearby attractions include the city's zoo and many of the nearby beaches.
Since the rise in tourism and influx of foreign businesspeople, there has been an increased demand for hotels in the city. To cater for these increased demands, the Corinthia Bab Africa hotel located in the central business district was constructed in 2003 and is the largest hotel in Libya. Other large hotels include the Bab El Bahr hotel and the Kabir Hotel as well as others.
Sahara Desert
The Sahara desert represents more than 90% of the Libyan territories and is an important Libyan resource with many tourist attraction landmarks. This includes historic arts, agricultural, urban constructions and habitations in oases and desert lakes. Such a diversity in desert tourist phenomena in Libya gives several opportunities to perform entertainment, cultural and scientific activities to satisfy the desire of the adventurer tourist and the amateur sportsman tourist through the desert paths. Moreover, the natural beauty distinguishing the Libyan desert and its calm, isolation and simplicity of life present unlimited photographic opportunities.
The desert mountains and hills in south Libya add other aesthetic aspects to the desert beauty. Among the most important and famous mountainous areas is Akakus mountains, located in the southwest part of the country, near the Algerian borders, extending north until Awinat area, and south until south Ghat, in parallel of Wadi Tenzruft. This area is characterized with the fascinating landscapes due to the natural caverns. It is distinguished also with its multi-colour rocks giving its very declined borders a fascinating beautiful view.
Contemporary travel
The most common form of public transport between cities is the bus, but many people travel by automobile. There are no railway services in Libya.Libyan cuisine
Libyan cuisine is generally simple, and is very similar to Sahara cuisine. In many undeveloped areas and small towns, restaurants may be nonexistent, and food stores may be the only source to obtain food products. Some common Libyan foods include couscousCouscous
Couscous is a Berber dish of semolina traditionally served with a meat or vegetable stew spooned over it. Couscous is a staple food throughout Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.-Etymology:...
, bazeen
Bazeen
Bazeen is a starchy Libyan food. The main ingredient is barley flour; this is sometimes mixed with wheat flour. Bazeen is typically served with a tomato sauce, eggs, potatoes and mutton....
, which is a type of unsweetened cake, and shurba, which is soup. Libyan restaurants may serve international cuisine, or may serve simpler fare such as lamb, chicken, vegetable stew, potatoes and macaroni
Macaroni
Macaroni is a variety of moderately extended, machine-made, dry pasta made with durum wheat. Macaroni noodles do not contain eggs, and are normally cut in short, hollow shapes; however, the term refers not to the shape of the pasta, but to the kind of dough from which the noodle is made...
. Alcohol consumption is illegal in the entire country.
There are four main ingredients of traditional Libyan food: olive
Olive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
s (and olive oil
Olive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...
), palm date
Date Palm
The date palm is a palm in the genus Phoenix, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit. Although its place of origin is unknown because of long cultivation, it probably originated from lands around the Persian Gulf. It is a medium-sized plant, 15–25 m tall, growing singly or forming a clump with...
s, grain
GRAIN
GRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Our support takes the form of independent research and analysis, networking at local, regional and...
s and milk. Grains are roasted, ground, sieved and used for making bread, cakes, soups and bazeen
Bazeen
Bazeen is a starchy Libyan food. The main ingredient is barley flour; this is sometimes mixed with wheat flour. Bazeen is typically served with a tomato sauce, eggs, potatoes and mutton....
. Dates are harvested, dried and can be eaten as they are, made into syrup or slightly fried and eaten with bsisa
Bsisa
Bsisa , , Berber aḍemmin is a typical North African food, based on flour of roasted barley.Bsisa, Howira, and Zumita are all varieties of mixtures of roasted cereals ground with fenugreek and aniseed and cumin and sugar. This kind of food is known in Tunis and Algeria as well as throughout Libya...
and milk. After eating, Libyans often drink black tea. This is normally repeated a second time (for the second glass of tea), and in the third round the tea is served with roasted peanut
Peanut
The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...
s or roasted almond
Almond
The almond , is a species of tree native to the Middle East and South Asia. Almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree...
s (mixed with the tea in the same glass).
External links
- Lonely Planet Guide
- Temehu Travel Guide to Libya
- http://libyabooking.webs.com/