Places to see in Libya (1)

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.

- Cyrene (Shahhat) – Ruins of an ancient Greek colony near Benghazi. It's mentioned in the bible.

 

-  Old city of Ghadames – A beautiful white city with an extremely unique two-storey design. The walls of the buildings also served as paths, allegedly for women to use to avoid crowds. There are also covered walkways between many of the buildings, built to avoid moving around under the hot sun.

- Tadrart Acacus – A mountain range in the far south-west containing some incredible prehistoric rock art, 14000 years old! This is sadly being slowly damaged by the shockwaves created by nearby oil exploration. It is very close to the town of Ghat, which also contains an old fortress, although no-one seems to be able to say who built it. 

- Lost Cities – The capital of the Garamantes, Germa, is still being excavated, and recently new cities have been spotted by satellite. Only time will tell what new discoveries will come from these sites, and they will be a valuable resource in training Libya’s next generation of historians and archaeologists. When those two faculties are up and running again in universities, students should certainly be invited to help at the digs.

- In addition to these, all cities have their own “old district” with traditional libyan buildings and businesses. You really are missing out if you haven’t made it a point to visit yet.

These aren’t the only ancient cities; there are at least 3 more cities in the east (Ptolemais, Hadrianopolis, Olbia) and probably many more lying undiscovered. I’d love to hear accounts and comparisons of them by people who have been; I’ve never had the pleasure.

ِAnd this is just what I've been able to gather information about. You are quite likely to stumble across an unnamed gem, like this 400 year old mosque in rujban. I've heard there are several, although one was recently destroyed by fanatics.

These places need a dedicated ministry, they need to be thoroughly surveyed, registered and protected (!!), not to mention thoroughly studied and written about. Local staff should be trained to look after them. Some of them are already registered as world heritage sites by UNESCO (the cultural body of the UN) and perhaps more will follow. Imagine the income it will attract from tourism, although we will have to make sure they are very well managed and cared for to prevent the damage can tourism do through litter/pollution, wear and irresponsible behaviour.

 

And tourism doesn’t exclusively mean foreigners. Most developed countries have established internal tourism, and it provides a strong boost for local economies when city folk go to small towns for a weekend away, to see the sights and enjoy the culture. As far as I’m aware, this mentality barely exists in Libya. Normally you’ll just get a bemused look and “shino ideer hne?” if you tell someone that you’re not local and just in town for a few days, but hopefully this will change.

More interesting stuff here, and plenty of pictures on flickr and the photos albums on this group. Try not to let your jaw hang open! It's hard not to be optimistic about our future when you see all of this amazing stuff.