Originally written on Thursday, 23. August 2007.
So, a simple question. Did I enjoy my time in Libya ?
Simple answer, Yes, I did.
Libya, or at least the Libyan political system, both internally and externally, is a complicated and often janus beast. But the country, the landscape, the geography of the country is a beautiful place. It has 2000 kilometres of coast line, running from Tunis on the west of the country, across to Egypt on the east. It has Phoenician and Roman ruins that are now classified as a UN World Heritage site, [Leptis, see scribbles passim] because they have spent much of the last 1500 years or so under sand, protected from the elements and people by the very elements that causes so many problems for this country.
I have seen my first setting sun here in Libya. To actually see a sun set in under five minutes was, frankly, a wonderful sight.
I have had some great meals, although, it has to be said, for a vegetarian, you have to have a liberal view of the term ‘vegetarian’ when you eat out. Vegetable soup made with lamb stock is vegetarian, because, well, it has no meat in it. This is a fair point from a people who do not have the word ‘vegetarian’ in their lexicon. Animals are after all, given by god to be slaughtered, munched up, processed and turned into burgers and kebabs for consumption by the ‘higher species’. This is one point of view anyway.
The locally grown vegetables and fruit are excellent, the cous cous is very good, the falafel, as always in Tripoli, are always worth the effort and, when you can fight your way thru the late night traffic, the Italian ice cream followed by an apple shisha is always a delight. Driving in Tripoli has become a mastered art, thanks in part to having a large square Volvo. Don’t give the other man an inch seems to work very well, even when there are seven lanes of traffic on a two lane road.
I saw my best lunar eclipse in Libya [see the photo’s in the ‘eclipse’ folder]in Libya, which had excellent viewing conditions, partly because of the relativly low amount of pollution out of town but mostly because there is very little ‘light pollution’, so the place is very dark. Excellent for looking upwards, not so good for looking straight ahead.!
Tripoli, as a city, looks best at night. The lack of planning means that there is a mish mash of different street lights, different colours etc. From certain angles, sitting in a coffee shop with a shisha near the green square, for instance, the city of Tripoli has a rough and ready Southern Med’ feel about the place. Marseilles rather than Nice.
The darkness, from a distance, covers up the fact the Tripoli is a dirty city. The yellow neon city lighting gives the impression of a romantic, chic environment, one in which you might find a Ricks Bar American, the gorgeous Ilsa a devious but ultimately humane Captain Renault, rather than a dirty, unkempt north African city, which dumps all its waste straight into the sea through a big pipe near the city centre.
Libya is on a cusp. The spring is coiled and it is ready to leap. The question is, which way ? It has the potential to be a fantastic tourist destination, with a rich and varied history, great coast line, with friendly relaxed people. Of course the issue of getting in to Libya will have to be addressed, with visa regulations needing to be changed.
It has the potential to build a Quatar style business district, capable of sustaining life once the oil money runs out, and of course it will. It has the potential to power most, if not all, of it’s residential and business needs from harnessing the power of the sun. There is a rail line that needs to be built, completing the plans that were started more than 20 years ago with Tunisia and Egypt, both of whom completed their side of the deal a long, long time ago. This will provide an alternative to air travel, into and out of the country, can provide a link with the rest of the African continent, that will open up another trade route for Africa into Europe and beyond, and in turn providing on going revenue and jobs for the people of Libya.
It has the potential to be a hub for negotiation between the Islamic world and the Western States. With it’s new found friendship with Uncle Sam and Euroland, with the dropping of the US sponsored UN Embargo there has in recent months a warming of smiles on both sides [if not on all faces] and a desire to move on. Indeed, France as even signed a deal to build a nuclear power plant for Libya. Very generous indeed.
Libya has the potential for all of these things, and so much more. However, progress is a slow, time consuming affair in Libya, things do not happen quickly. They do not always need to happen quickly, but they do need to happen. Libya has vast reserves of oil, but this is not limitless. It is finite. It will run out. And when that does, Libya will have to adapt.
But, by then, it will be too late.
The End.
Mark Daniels 