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LIBYA
'We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment....'
Hilarie Belloc
28th April
The border on the Libyan side was quite straightforward, with everyone once again welcoming, polite and helpful. However, to get the insurance and Libyan number plates for the Land Rover, Bill was whisked off to the nearest town and by the time he returned, the sun was low in the sky and we had no idea of where to stay.
With no known campsites, one of the police officers kindly gave us the name of a hotel about 40 kilometres further on, just before the small town of Al Burdi. We eventually found it set back off the road with a petrol station, restaurant and a mosque but it was totally deserted being prayer time. A very apologetic but helpful man arrived after nearly ½ an hour and showed us to a room. It had a very bad, drain smell however and so we were taken to a second room, where the smell was fine but the TV couldn't be coaxed to provide a picture. Oh well, can't have everything!
29th April
We continued along the north coast of Libya today and into Tobruk, a vast, sprawling town by the sea. Fighting had been fierce there between 1940 and 1942 during the Second World War battle for control of Egypt and the Suez Canal.
We arrived at a checkpoint but with everyone in plain clothes rather than in uniform that we have been accustomed to. We asked where we could find a bank in town and one policeman named Moosas (Moses), who fortunately spoke good English, jumped in a pick-up and told us to follow him. We pulled up outside the bank where Moosas instructed Bill to 'off engine' and he would help him inside the bank, whilst I waited in the Land Rover. Sitting there catching up with my diary, I suddenly realised that, 'hello madam, how are you?' had been repeated many times. Looking up from my writing, two very good-looking men in suits were waving and smiling from an open window at the side of the bank! We exchanged greetings and lots more smiles as they welcomed me to their country and wished me a safe journey, before waving and sliding the window shut!
Moosas and Bill returned, having obtained Libyan dinars from a money changer, as the bank could only offer dollars. Quite unbelievable! We had wanted dollars many times in Africa and had always had a struggle to find a bank that would supply them. Now the one time that we didn't need them, but required the local currency, we could have had them!
Moosas, a major with the tourist police, invited us to stay with his family so that he would then be able to practise his English, which he had been told by his father, 'was easy come but easy go like money', if you did not speak it regularly. It was a very kind offer but we declined however, as we felt that we needed to drive further today, so Moosas wrote down the name of a hotel in Appolonia, saying that it might be possible to camp but only next to the police post. He also gave us his mobile number in case we had any problems whilst anywhere in Libya. He assured us however, that it was very safe in Libya although we should always take care, especially the 'kindly lady', meaning me! He had such lovely, quaint expressions and should be proud of his English. Such people helped to make our journey very special.
From Tobruk, we continued following the straight road through flat, sand and gravel desert, with the sea on our right. We stopped for diesel and the man disappeared with the money and then returned with the change, plus 2 cartons of mango juice and 2 chocolate bars. Another act of kindness.
We have been glad of tarmac roads for a while, as our Old Man Emu shock absorbers have finally gone soft with the weight and battering over the many rough roads. Moby now has lots of 'bounce' and we badly need new ones before any more long travels over bad terrain. The radiator still seemed to be holding however.....touch wood!
The dumping of litter is obviously a big problem in Libya but the stretch of coastline towards Ras al Hilal was untouched, wild and beautiful, with numerous bays and the sea like a sparkling, blue jewel.
As we began to reach the Jebel Akhdar (Green Mountains), the landscape on our left became rugged but very green. We had not expected the northern coast to appear so fertile. Libya is mostly desert terrain with almost 90% of the population living along its stretch of coastline.
We stopped for the night at Hotel Manara by the harbour, a really nice hotel and full of French tourists that had arrived by coach.
30th April
We stopped at Cyrene (Cyrenaica), about 2 kilometres from Shihat, to visit the remains of the Greek City there, founded in 600BC by Greek settlers from an island in the Mediterranean.
Situated high on a hill with commanding views over the sea and surrounded by fields and trees, it was a beautiful site to have chosen. Today the air was full of birdsong and underfoot it was a mass of spring flowers, that attracted many butterflies and bees. It must have been a massive city judging by the remains. A little further down were the ruins of a huge temple spread over a large area, which again must once have been very impressive.
We continued west on the road through the scenic Jebel Akhdar. Wild and craggy and clad with trees, these mountains provided shelter and enough rainfall for the wide strip of land, that began at the foot of the mountains and spread to the sea. This was farming land, a big, wheat growing area but also with fields full of olive trees and fruit trees that were beginning to blossom. Herds of sheep and goats grazed amongst the stubble and trucks piled high with bales of straw continually passed us on the road. Wild honeysuckle covered the hedgerows and there were many little stalls at the sides of the road selling honey. The numerous, flat-roofed farm houses very often had vines growing over their porches and combine harvesters and tractors were busy in the fields. At least they didn't have to worry about getting the harvest in before it rained!
As we descended toward the large city and port of Benghazi, the mountains on our left gradually softened to a long, low range of hills. No camping again so we took a room at the Uzu Hotel.
1st May
Another new month. Libya will have been the last country for which we have had to apply for a visa and we only have one more North African country to visit before we head for Europe. A strange and daunting thought!
We left Benghazi in a 'ghibli', a hot, dry, sand-laden wind, that blows in from the desert at this time of the year. The palm trees were bent double along the waterfront and the sky had turned a heavy yellow. It took us a while to find our way out of Benghazi, the second largest city in Libya after Tripoli and it didn't help with all the road signs written only in Arabic.
We headed to Ajdabiya, 160 kilometres further south toward the desert, so straight into the sand and wind with visibility almost nil at times, as drifts of sand scoured the roads and our lights tried to pierce the yellow gloom.
At Ajdabiya, the flat and featureless, desert landscape at last turned to one of green and the numerous, low, scrubby plants prevented the sand from being blown so freely and the sky began to clear. Large areas of the desert were sadly still complete rubbish tips, where people had thrown hundreds of plastic bags and sacks full of garbage, bottles and cans. They blew around the desert, bags ripped open and fluttering like prayer flags caught amongst the scrub.
We stopped at a well-stocked little shop at the side of the road to buy things for lunch and just as we were leaving, a van arrived full of freshly baked bread. The Sudanese shop owner popped 2 in a bag for us with a packet of chewing gum, as a present for our journey. Another kind gesture.
The sky cleared further and we could see the horizon out at sea just before Sirte, 561 kilometres from Benghazi. We arrived in the dark and found a room at Hotel Medina where they cooked us a very good meal although it was 9 p.m.
It had been a long day, travelling through a flat and tedious landscape, battling against strong winds and a dust-laden sky, for nearly the whole of the journey.
3rd - 5th May
Hot winds were blowing from the desert once more, as we drove from Misratah to Labdah. Our plans to visit Leptis Magna, once one of the most important and magnificent cities in the Roman Empire, were scrapped, following an encounter with a very 'pushy' guide who was adamant that we needed him for a large fee as well as 50 dinars to enter. We were only slightly disappointed however, as we knew that there was another interesting Roman City to be visited later at Sabratha.
Through Khoms where we stopped at a roadside stall and bought a roasted, half chicken off the spit, with salad and bread. These 'packed lunches' were amazing value and we enjoyed this whilst parked on a stretch of beach. We then did our good deed for the day and towed a car out of deep sand belonging to 2 local guys.
We had no idea where to stay in Tripoli, with no known campsites again and everything still written in Arabic. We pulled up at a café to ask advice and were invited in for tea by Aimen, a young Libyan training to be a dentist. We all sat in the garden chatting, whilst Aimen's hubble-bubble pipe gurgled and the hot charcoal and apple-flavoured tobacco gave a pleasant smell. He then very kindly told us to follow him in his car and he would help us find a hotel for the night. Another kind gesture from a complete stranger. Many thanks Aimen, we really appreciated your help.
We discovered from a German man also staying at the same Government run hotel and who was driving a Discovery, that there was in fact, a Land Rover dealer in Tripoli and he kindly showed us where to find it. He used his vehicle for driving hundreds of kilometres into the desert to visit farms and once again he was full of interesting information, having worked in Libya for 15 years.
We also met Fi Fi from China one evening in the hotel car park. He was so enthusiastic about our trip and we had another long and interesting chat, hearing also about his life and his time spent in Libya where he had a clothes shop.
6th May
We took Moby to the Land Rover garage today where we met Lloyd (who managed it), Jim who had just returned from a desert trip out to an oilfield and Veronica the secretary. We had more interesting conversations with them all, got new oil filters and had heavy-duty shock absorbers fitted on the back, where we had most of the weight. Many thanks Lloyd for fitting us in at such short notice and to Jim for keeping in touch. We hope you get that engine rebuild done and make that overland trip in the not too distant future! We would certainly recommend Lloyd's garage to other overlanders.
7th May
An overcast and cool day, another sudden change in the weather. We left Tripoli today after having really enjoyed our stay and meeeting many friendly and welcoming people, not only Libyans but also Algerians, Moroccans, Egyptians, Sudanese and Brits!
We will not be sorry however, to leave behind the crazy driving! We thought Cairo was bad but here it is the speed that is terrifying and the way vehicles cut in and out and overtake. A two lane highway becomes three. Smashed cars are everywhere and left to rust on the sides of the road. A collection of road accident wrecks were on display in Green Square one day, presumably to encourage people to think about their reckless driving. They drew a continual crowd all evening as we sat and had a meal in a restaurant, that overlooked the square.
We took the road southwest to Azizyah and then followed the Jebel Nafusah on to Tiji, where we turned south for the small town of Kabao, situated on a flat plateau and reached by a steep climb and a series of hairpin bends.
At Kabao, we found the fascinating ruins of an ancient city and were greeted by Rabir. He showed us the ancient olive press (a massive stone that would have been turned by a camel), the insides of many of the houses and provided us with interesting information on the way. At the top, overlooking the rest of the city, was a massive, 5 storey, circular building with many windows and doors and wooden platforms, that led to tiny rooms. These would have been used for storing corn, dates and olive oil from the olives grown in the valley, which many years ago, had plenty of water. This interesting tour was followed by small glasses of delicious green tea infused with sprigs of rosemary. We sat with Rabir and his 3 friends Mohammed, Said and Mustafa, in a small, open-fronted stone building, around their little charcoal fire. They were all such lovely people and wished us good luck for our journey as they waved us on our way. We were very touched by their kindness.
We retraced our route back to Tiji and then took the road to Nalut, reached again by a sudden steep climb, winding 650 metres up from the plains and providing us with scenic views.
There was only one hotel in Nalut, at the end of a road that overlooked another ancient, ruined city. Painted in pink and fawn it resembled an oversized, iced cake. Our room appeared reasonably clean but cost 45 dinars, expensive we thought, especially when we discovered that there was no electricity and therefore no hot water. We discovered later, that the lack of electricity was due to an unpaid bill! It began to pour with rain, just as we set out to find somewhere to eat but we found a little restaurant not too far away run by two Algerian men who spoke French, so at least we could understand what was on offer. The spaghetti with meat and tomato sauce was delicious and we were joined by Ahmed, a 27 year old Libyan who we were able to have an interesting 'conversation' with, using his smattering of English and our little bit of Arabic, plus biro drawings and words on a serviette!
We arrived back at the hotel thinking that the electricity had returned, as there was a light bulb on in the reception and a group of men were watching TV. This we were told was being run by a small generator, TV for the locals obviously far more important than guest's comforts! We were provided with a couple more candles and spent the evening squashing mosquitoes around the room before we could settle for the night.
8th May
Another grey, overcast and cold morning. We could see a couple of mosquitoes resting on the ceiling after having given us a restless night. Still no electricity, so we lit the candles in the windowless bathroom and had a quick wash with cold water. We were ushered into the dining room where our breakfast, of four leaden, cross-between a croissant and a bread roll sat waiting, having already been enjoyed by numerous flies. Two yoghurts sat in what would have been the cold cabinet but I didn't dare ask for them as there was no telling how long they had sat there without electricity. We had a mango juice and a tea and paid our bill, wondering whether it would help towards paying the outstanding electricity bill!
There were long queues out on to the road for diesel and petrol at the only garage. Nalut appeared a grey and depressing town in the daylight, houses looked as if they were just about holding together and the men huddled under long, brown, hooded cloaks to keep out the cold. There were also rows of men sitting at the sides of the road, hoping that someone would stop and pick them up and provide them with some work for the day. We had also seen this in Tripoli, but there the men had the tools of their trade propped up in front of them, maybe a paint can and rollers, or a saw and a plank of wood so that their different trades could be quickly recognised. I always found this such a sad spectacle and wondered how many of them returned home at the end of the day, having done nothing but sit and wait and hope. Even the ruins of the ancient city didn't look spectacular or as if they matched up to those at Kabao. The usual piles of rubbish lay scattered all over the outskirts of the town. We had not experienced two, wet and grey days, or felt so cold for a long time!
We took the almost straight road south west to Darj, 240 kilometres through a mostly flat, stony and deep orange, sand landscape, with undulating hills on each side of us. The heavy cloud still followed us and on reaching Darj, people were picking their way carefully through mud and puddles.
We turned west for Ghadames, where many distant palm trees announced our arrival and the sun finally came out, revealing a welcoming blue sky amongst the clouds.
Ghadames, often referred to as 'The Pearl of the Sahara', is approx. 650 kilometres south west of Tripoli and situated close to the borders of Tunisia and Algeria, both of which were marked by a distant line of enormous and hazy sand dunes on our right. Ghadames holds a big festival every October, which attracts many tourists, but now, everything was quiet.
We pulled up at a little motel next to the old Medina called 'Jewel of the Sahara', where Ahmed Attunsi from Tunisia greeted us and showed us around. Steps from the street led down to the rooms amongst curved, cool arches and walls about 2ft thick. Our room contained just four metal beds, with very soft mattresses and rock hard pillows and two white, plastic chairs. Ahmed then thoughtfully brought in a TV which he plugged into a socket suspended from a very dubious looking wiring system in the ceiling. The shower in the shared bathroom, we were assured, was 'very strong', being situated on a lower floor of the building, but it turned out to be very erratic and most of the water escaped through a black, plastic sack tied around the pipes and tap. We appeared to be the only people there however, so did not have to share our room or the bathroom. It was good value at 15 dinars a night (approx. £9) including breakfast and we discovered later, that the local dishes served at lunchtime and dinner, were also very good. The top of the motel had wonderful views across to the old Medina, the many pointed, roof decorations, now looking like jagged, torn paper shapes against the sky.
The old Medina of Ghadames was a huge place, divided into 7 areas, in which we discovered, you could very easily get lost. This amazing, ancient city, has now been recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and many of the houses still belong to people, who today, live in the new town outside the city walls. They use them for storage, keep sheep, goats and hens there and sometimes work in the gardens amongst the hundreds of palm trees. Some of the houses were in better condition than others. Whilst some were sadly crumbling, others had been restored, their small windows protected with decorative iron work and wooden shutters, their walls whitened with a layer of powdered gypsum, that dazzled in the bright sunshine. Doors were made from stripped and halved palm trunks, that were then pegged together and ceilings were also supported in the same manner, with palm branches in between. The narrow alleyways were also often covered in the same way to keep them dark and cool. When the temperature in summer reached 40-50 degrees, people would sit in these alleyways on long seats carved out of the wall and covered in rough blankets, the men separate from the boys and the women separate from them both. Silent, twisting, sandy paths led between the many gardens lined with mud walls, some of which again had crumbled but others had been restored and topped with rows of open, triangular shapes, so that people could look down into the gardens. Most of these gardens, full of majestic date palms, were sadly neglected and collecting rubbish. However, some were bright green carpets of baseem (alfalfa), pomegranate bushes boasted their scarlet flowers and olive and fig trees would be full of fruit later in the year. A maze of channels, only a few now with water, would once have flowed to irrigate the land. We discovered two large, walled areas full of water supplied by underground springs, no longer enough though to enable people to live in the city and cultivate all the gardens.
A few of the restored houses had the wonderful, traditional rooms that could still be explored and the one that we visited also had guest rooms. The walls had been beautifully decorated by the women, with intricate patterns in red, green and yellow, (although blue has also been added to these now). We learned that the red came from crushed pomegranate flowers, the green from the leaves of a plant that once grew in Egypt and Tunisia but can now be found here and the yellow from dried egg yolks. When mixed with olive oil and water, these would have provided the original 3 colours. The patterns were very often painted around small windows, doors, attractively shaped niches and little cupboards set into the walls. We climbed steps to explore the four floors, where beautifully decorated doors opened into many different rooms. The roof would have been for family gatherings on a warm evening and a plate of sliced watermelon would have been placed on a wooden rack set into the wall. Left there for a while, we were assured it would soon have been cool to eat.
The walls of the main room were completely adorned with pictures, decorative mirrors, brass and copper ornaments, patterned scarves and many, beautifully woven and conical-shaped food covers, in many sizes. These could easily have been mistaken for hats but we were assured that they were for protecting food from the flies and to help keep it warm. Some were elaborately decorated with beads and these would have been used for special celebrations. The floor was covered with rugs and colourful cushions and had a low table where the family would gather to eat.
Outside, the surrounding walls displayed more decorative paintwork and there you could relax at the palm-woven tables and chairs and enjoy a Turkish coffee or a cold drink. The garden was full of plants and a date palm, the thin branches weighed down with bunches of hard, dry dates which would be fed to the animals, along with the dry fronds from the palm leaves. The thicker stems would then be used to burn on the cooking fires.
Back at our motel we sat outside and enjoyed an evening meal of spicy, Libyan soup, a fresh salad with tomatoes, cucumber, tuna and black olives, followed by a tagine of vegetables, lamb and camel meat. A glass of wine would have gone down very well with such a delicious meal but we had to make do with non-alcoholic beer and water! Ahmed's wife was an excellent cook and it was a lovely evening after our very interesting visit around the Medina.
Tomorrow Ahmed has arranged for a local guide to take us to Lake M'Jazzim, about 10 kilometres out into the desert.
9th May
Today there was blue sky and bright sunshine and Mohammed Ali (our guide), arrived as we were finishing breakfast outside. He was armed with a book called 'South from Barbary' which he opened and proudly showed us his photograph inside. The author, Justin Marozzi, accompanied by an English friend, had met Mohammed in Ghadames, prior to crossing the Libyan desert. Mohammed had then helped them both tirelessly, by finding them guides and five, good camels before starting their journey. He also made a special journey to visit them 1 week after they had left Ghadames, to make sure that all was well.
Mohammed spoke excellent English and by the end of the morning we had learned so much from him. He had been born in the Old Medina and had lived there with his family for a number of years, so he still had many memories and would much rather be living there today, than in the new town. He also had a great love for the desert and his knowledge of this I'm sure, was revealed in the book.
We had arranged to travel with Mohammed in his vehicle to the lake and a whole morning with him would cost 40 dinars. He insisted that we must first visit the museum, where exhibits were very well presented and he supplied us with a lot of interesting information.
The turning for Lake M'Jazzim was about 30 kilometres back out along the main road and then a further 10 kilometres into the desert, over a salt-encrusted track. Watery mirages shimmered on each side and dark brown, salt flats stretched into the distance, before they reached the enormous line of sand dunes about 15 kilometres away and which marked the beginning of Tunisia.
Bright blue Lake M'Jazzim was completely hidden by a circular, low ridge of sand and vegetation, a very remote and beautiful place with just the sound of the wind.
Leaving the lake and heading back to Ghadames, Mohammed gave us a guided tour. He took us to see the two remaining Roman tombs which were strange, weathered shapes of mud and rock and then to the smaller, ancient town of Tunin with its date palm gardens, grape vines, fig, olive and pomegranate trees. He took us through the narrow alleyways, pointing out the old doorways. Once again, they were constructed from split, palm trunks, some of which though, had small squares of red, yellow and green, faded fabric pinned all over them. These meant that the occupants who had once lived there, had made the pilgrimage to Mecca. Finally, Mohammed insisted that we should return to a traditional house with him in the Old Medina for a cool drink and once again we learned so much from his guided tour. It was early afternoon before we returned with him to the motel and Mohammed had been an excellent companion. He was obviously so proud of his heritage and would have been very sorry if we had missed being shown any of the above. We were both very grateful to him.
At about 5 p.m. we drove out to the desert in Moby, to the edge of the big dunes that would continue into Tunisia and Algeria. It was amazing how these enormous dunes suddenly rose out of a flat, gravel plain. Deep yellow and crescent shaped dunes, glowing orange as the sun began to sink lower in the sky. Curved on razor-sharp edges, that fell away to steep, hard packed, shadowed sides one way and soft, knee deep sand on the other. This was a popular time for people to climb the dunes and watch the sunset.
We met Caroline and Mark from East London on the top of one of these dunes. They were on holiday in Libya, also enjoying the spectacle of the sun setting. We all immediately seemed to share a great enthusiasm for everything that we had all seen, experienced and felt. We were to bump into them again later in Tripoli and we do hope that we will be able to meet up with you again in London when we return.
10th May
We left Ghadames today with a clear, blue sky again, following that tantalising line of enormous, distant dunes on our left as we left the town.
Back to Tripoli, where a beautiful P & O cruise ship was docked in the harbour opposite our hotel. We met a couple from the ship and we discovered that it had been cruising the Mediterranean for a month, the next port of call being Malta. With sanctions now lifted (although not completely we were frequently told), Libya is now opening up to tourists, although most still arrive on organised tours. Gaddafi has been working hard to improve the image of what has been viewed by many, as a terrorist state and Tripoli certainly had many things to show from that work, with its green gardens and palm trees along the corniche, new hotels and other modern buildings. We also hoped however, that many of the beautiful and old, colonial buildings would also be restored to their former glory.
Libya is a country with a turbulent history, having been occupied by the Greeks, Romans, Turks, Italians and the French, to name just a few. Religion is very important, being almost 100% Muslim. The majority of women were very modest in the way they dressed outside but in the main shopping street in Tripoli, there were shops full of ornate gold jewellery, beautiful long gowns, embroidered shoes, expensive leather goods and Italian suits for men.
12th May
We left Tripoli today for our last North African country - Tunisia.
First however, there was Sabratha to visit, where we explored the remains of another interesting Roman City. It had a very impressive theatre, which revealed glimpses of the bright blue Mediterranean between its enormous pillars and we discovered many beautiful mosaics as we walked amongst the ruins.
At both borders the officials were very helpful and when we handed in our Libyan number plates on leaving the country, we were refunded the 100 dinars.
We have enjoyed our time in Libya immensely, people have been helpful and friendly and we have felt extremely safe wherever we have travelled. The greatest danger was the driving and we were warned to be careful on the roads many times.
We were so fortunate in being given a 1 month visa and able to travel without a guide, which we were certainly not expecting, after having heard various reports from other travellers.
Our visit to Ghadames was definitely a wonderful experience. Other places to have visited would have been Ghat and the Acacus Mountains right down in the south, also Sabah in the centre where you can cross the desert and visit remote oases and lakes at Gaberoun.
However, Libya is a big country and the oases alone would have been another 2000 kilometres there and back, Ghat even further. Perhaps we can save these for another trip!
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