My favourite quote from The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fannon. So relevant that it could have been written yesterday.
I'm not buying any of the fear-mongering about Libya. Sure we have problems, but it's not as bad as it appears; it never is. We've already passed the darkest days, regardless of whether the "hard part" is yet to come. Calm down.
And if you are one of the people proclaiming Jibril-esque portents of doom, go and do something constructive please.
Bikku Bitti is the tallest mountain in Libya, right on the chad border. “It was
first climbed in December, 2005 by a British team led by Ginge Fullen”. I know that doesn't include the local tebou who have lived there for centuries, but oh the shame. It was a very interesting and impressive expedition, but it's sad that the race which produced the likes of Ibn Battuta can no longer claim knowledge of what's within its own borders. Wouldn't it be great to start seeing this kind of thing done more often by Libyans, and on a more general sale by the whole arab world?
There’s been a massive boom in journalism of all sorts in Libya since 17th February. As well as the myriad new television stations there are many facebook news pages run by citizen journalists. But my biggest hope is for the non-news media. The torrent of creativity now released has also seen many videos made by individuals, collectives and fledgling NGOs. Here are my favourites so far:
I really
hope some of them turn to documentaries. I’ve never really seen a great (non-dubbed) Arabic
nature documentary, just politics and occasionally religion. Perhaps we will
see the emergence of an Arabic David Attenborough (or several) in the future.
Any budding would-be documentary-makers, take your chance now and be the first. Look at all of the unexplored places I pointed out in my last couple of posts. There’s not exactly fierce
competition for time on our airwaves these days, and the niche is open for someone to explore the forgotten corners of the Arabic world. There is also an entire world of culture that most people were oblivious to before this year, and we have a heritage most western historians would die for.
If you're interested, strive for it! Try making your own shows about places you visit, learn to edit videos and then put them on Youtube or Vimeo to get exposure. Get researching your trips and
in a couple of years maybe you'll be able to approach a TV network or even university (when they are up and running) to fund your trips.
Btw I'd recommend Tropic of Cancer (from the BBC) to anyone who wants to see an awesome nature documentary filmed partly in the arab world. My favourite section was Oman.
P.S. Here's one of the archaeologists working to preserve our heritage
- Nafusa Mountains– This is very general, but I could write dozens of posts on the different things in the Nafusa mountains. Anyone who hasn’t been hiding under a
rock for the last 8 months will have seen some of the breathtaking plains and
mountain scenery in this region.
There are also several extremely beautiful little-known
oases in the area. I’ve heard of at least 2: Ein el zarga and Ein el rumiya,
which my dad stumbled across this summer and couldn’t stop talking about for
days. He won't give me the photos though, so instead here's Yefren, a town in the mountain range, and a seasonal waterfall near to it :)
As a starting point for people who haven’t heard of them
before here’s a list of some of the amazing places we have in Libya, many
of which we have taken for granted or been ignorant of for decades. If I’ve
missed any please comment/tweet me a link and I’ll include them.
Part 1. Cultural Section
Libya has some of the best preserved
ancient ruins in the world. Our rich heritage includes the ancient civilisations
of the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans and even two Amazigh ones, Numidia
and Garamantes, who are native to Libya and about whom relatively little is known.
I’m sure every Libyan will have heard
of at least the first 2 places on this list. They have been severely neglected in
recent history, and there was a real worry that they would be damaged during
the war. By the grace of God alone they survived mostly unharmed. الحمد لله
- Leptis Magna (Libda) – A 3000-year-old Phoenician colony
near al-Khums, slightly east of Tripoli. Later ruled by the Romans, and birthplace of the emperor Septimus Severus.
- Sabrata – Another Phoenician colony in the west.
