Libya cultural tours and desert trips (Background and practical information) - REDISCOVER THE WORLD

Until Libya achieved independence in 1951, its history was essentially that of tribes, regions, and cities, and of the Empires of which it was a part. Derived from the name by which a single Berber tribe was known to the Egyptians, the name Libya was subsequently applied by the Greeks to most of the North Africa and the term Libyan to all of its inhabitants. Although ancient in origin, these names were not used to designate the specific territory of modern Libya and its people until the twentieth century, nor indeed was the whole area formed into a coherent political unit until then. Hence, despite the long and distinct histories of its regions, modern Libya must be viewed as a new country still developing national consciousness and institutions.

Geography was the principal determinant in the separate historical devolopment of Libya ’s three traditional regions – Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, and Fezzan. Cut from each other by formidable deserts, each retained its separate identity into the 1960s. At the heart of Tripolitania was its metropolis, Tripoli, for centuries a terminal for caravans plying the Saharan trade routes and a port sheltering pirates and slave traders.


NEW: A group tour is scheduled for Friday, October 31st - Sunday November 9th
Grand Tour of Historic Libya - 10 day version, 4* hotels

Libya is the fourth largest country in Africa with 1.760.000 km² of mainly desert.

Arab is the official language of the country. English is widely spoken but all road and shop signs are in Arabic only.

The coastal region has a Mediterranean climate, with average temperatures in Tripoli ranging from 30°C (86°F) in summer to 8°C (46°F) in winter. Rainfall is mostly during the winter months and averages 380mm (15 inches) annually. Coastal towns can be humid, with levels as high as 80% in Tripolitania. The mountain regions experience more rainfall, particularly during the winter and early spring. Summers here are cooler than on the coastal plain.

Southern Libya has a desert climate with daytime winter temperatures ranging between 15 and 20°C, falling below zero at night. During the summer months there is virtually no rainfall and temperatures soar to over 50°C.

In the north-west a scorching wind, known as the ghibli, blows from the Sahara along the coast at the time of the spring solstice. This causes a sharp drop in humidity and a dramatic rise in temperature.

Banks usually open between 8am and 1pm (NOT fridays). In winter they can open wednesday and Saturday afternoons too, between 4pm and 5pm. Credit cards are accepted only in the larger hotels; travellers' cheques are of limited use. It is best to take Euros (or US Dollars if you have them); Sterling will be exchanged but is generally accepted less than the Euro.

Libyan currency is the Dinar which has mostly notes in daily use. These are 50 Dinars, 20 Dinars, 10 Dinars, 5 Dinars, 1 Dinar; you will also need to be careful when receiving change as there is a 1/2 Dinar and a 1/4 Dinar which are all similarly sized to the 1 Dinar. Exchange rate in 2007 was approx. 2.5 Dinars to £ 1.

Libyan cuisine is a mixture of Arabic and Mediterranean, with a strong Italian influence. Italy's legacy dates from the days when Libya was an Italian colony can be seen in the popularity of pasta on its menus, particularly macaroni. A famous local dish is couscous, which is a boiled cereal (traditionally millet, now fairly often wheat) used as a base for meat and potatoes. The meat is usually mutton, but chicken is served occasionally. Dates, oranges, apricots, figs and olives are all readily available.

Sharba is a highly-spiced Libyan soup.
Bazin, a local speciality is a hard paste, made from barley, salt and water.

Libyans prefer to eat at home, except on Fridays, when they enjoy family beachside picnics. For the most part, restaurants and cafes are used by foreigners. Menus do not vary greatly and local offerings consist mostly of meat and vegetables with couscous or macaroni. International cuisine is available in the larger hotels. Cafe opening hours outside the capital are somewhat limited, and most eating-houses close by 9pm .

All alcoholic drink is banned in Libya, in accordance with the laws of Islam. Local 'brews' are available, but are strictly illegal and likely to be of poor quality. These should therefore be avoided. Recently, there have been imports of non-alcoholic beer including many flavoured varietys such as apple and strawberry. Bottled mineral water is widely consumed, as are various soft drinks. Fruit juices, particularly orange, can be bought in season from street stalls. Local tap water is not recommended, as it has a slightly brackish taste. Libyan tea is a thick beverage served in a small glass, often accompanied by mint or peanuts. Regular American/British coffee is available if you ask for Nescafé; however, good Italian style espresso can be found in the north, particularly Tripoli.

Transport

Roads
There are about 19,300 km (12,000 miles) of roads in Libya, 56% of which are surfaced. The best roads run along the coast between Tripoli and Tunis in Tunisia; also between Benghazi and Tobruk, connecting with Alexandria in Egypt. A fairly efficient bus services operates along these routes, with two main bus transport companies. One covers long-distance, international routes, while the other is chiefly engaged in shorter trips between towns. Bus fares are low and the standard of comfort, particularly on international routes is good, with air-conditioned vehicles and good service. Most buses leave Tripoli early in the morning (about 8am) and tend to fill up rapidly.

Taxis are available in the larger towns, and are usually hired on a shared basis, although individual hire can be negotiated. Driving skills of taxi drivers are extremely variable. Taxis may have meters, but these are rarely in use.

Car hire for self-drive is not recommended in Libya, although it is possible to hire a vehicle from agents in larger hotels. Vehicles are often old and poorly-maintained, however, and are unequal to long-distance driving. Driving itself can be hazardous and there is a high rate of road accidents.

Rail
Railways no longer exist in Libya, as they were gradually dismantled after the Second World War. Travellers by train, therefore, may use the service from Tunis, which stops at the frontier, and then take a shared taxi onwards into Libya itself.

Libya being a hot country, we strongly recommend to wear head covers to avoid sunstroke. We also suggest moderately conservative clothing for ladies (for example clothes covering the upper legs and the shoulders). Otherwise, pack for the Mediterranean if you are staying primarily in the north.

In the souks, one can find the typical Arabic products like local carpets (the most famous is the Misurata carpet), silver products, multicoloured hand made Ghadames sandals and other varieties of local products.

A passport valid for 6 months after the date of return, with at least TWO empty pages is needed for each entry into the country.

None are needed on a compulsory basis; however, please consult your local GP surgery for an up-to-date list of recommended "jabs" which is likely to include Hepatitis A amongst others.

220/240V; Continental European plugs, although some UK-style 3 pin plugs are also found in hotels.

Taking photos is allowed in all archaeological sites and museums. A fee of 5 Dinars is charged for cameras and 10 dinars for camcorders. Government Buildings, Military officers, Persons and Bridges are not allowed to be photographed.

As a Muslim country, Libya observes all the main Muslim festivals, with some additional national holidays. Friday and Saturday are the official days of rest. Libyan national holidays are detailed below:

March 2nd: Declaration of the People's Authority
June 11th: Evacuation of foreign military bases
September 1st: Anniversary of the Revolution of 1969

Hours of business in private offices are from 7am to 2pm in summer, and from 8am to 1pm in winter. Evening office hours are from 4pm to 6.30pm throughout the year. Shopping hours are from 9am to 2pm and in the evening from 4.30pm to 8.30pm. Government offices and banks operate from 8am to 2pm.

Communications

The Libyan government owns and operates the postal and telecommunications system, with post office box and PTT facilities in all the large towns. Internal telephone calls are connected quickly, but expect a longer wait for international connections, as the number of lines is restricted. Fax facilities are available at the larger hotels, and from 24-hour PTT offices.

The international code for Libya is 218, and main internal area codes are as follows:

All but a small minority of the Libyan people are native Arabic-speakers and thus consider themselves to be Arabs. Arabic, a Semitic language, is the mother tongue of almost all peoples of North Africa and the Middle East . Three levels of the language are distinguishable: classical, the language of the Quran; modern standard, the form used in the present-day press; and the regional colloquial dialects. In Libya classical Arabic is used by religious leaders; modern standard Arabic appears in formal and written communication and sometimes in the schools. Many people learn Quranic quotations without being able to speak the classical language.

In classical Arabic, as in other Semitic scripts, the text is read from right to left, and only consonants are written. Vowel signs and other diacritical marks appear sometimes in printed texts as aids to pronunciation. Modern standard is grammatically simpler than classical and includes numerous words unknown to the Quran.

The spoken dialects of Tripolitania and Fezzan belong to the Maghribi group, used throughout the Maghrib. They are mutually intelligible but differ considerably from dialects in the Middle East . Dialects of Cyrenaica resemble those of Egypt and the Middle East . Urban dialects differ somewhat from those of the hinterland, and in the southern part of the country some Sudanese influence exists.

Arabs find great beauty and style in their language. It is a keystone of Arab nationalism and a symbol of Arab creativity. Libya has played a leading part in the campaign to make Arabic an official language in the forums of the UN and other international organizations. Yet although Arabic has a richness of sound and a variety of vocabulary that make it a tongue for poets, its syntactic complexity makes it one of the world's most complex written languages. Its intricate vocabulary also is not well suited as a medium for technical and scientific expression.

Even modern standard Arabic contains little in the way of a technical vocabulary , in part because many Arabs are purists about their language and resist the intrusion of foreign words. These deficiencies of Arabic, coupled with a tradition in Arab schools of learning by rote methods, have seriously interfered with scientific and technical advancement. In Libya , as well as in the other Maghribi countries where a similar problem exists, educators reluctantly recognize that preparation of suitable Arabic vocabulary additions, textbooks, and syllabi are still a generation or more away. In the meantime, scientific and technical subjects in the Libyan universities are in large part taught by foreigners employing foreign languages.

Under the colonial regime, Italian was the language of instruction in schools, but only a scattering of Muslim children attended these institutions. As a consequence, the Italian language did not take root in Libya to the extent that French did elsewhere in North Africa . Nevertheless, the strong wave of nationalism accompanying the 1969 revolution found expression in a campaign designed to elevate the status of the Arabic language. An order was issued requiring that all street signs, shop window notices, signboards, and traffic tickets be written in Arabic. This element of Arabization reached its apogee in 1973, when a decree was passed requiring that passports of persons seeking to enter the country contain the regular personal information in Arabic, a requirement that was strictly enforced.

Despite the progress of Arabization during the 1970s, English occupied an increasingly important place as the second language of the country. It was taught from primary school onward, and in the universities numerous scientific, technical, and medical courses were conducted in English. A Tripoli shopkeeper or a hotel doorman was unlikely to speak the language, but business people were accustomed to corresponding in it. The government also issued at least some internal statistical documents and other publications in a bilingual English-Arabic format. In 1986 Qadhafi announced a policy of eliminating the teaching of English in favor of instruction in Russian at all levels. Whether this policy would actually be carried out remained to be seen in 1987, but it seemed safe to assume that English would remain in wide use for the immediate future if not longer.

The present population of Libya is composed of several distinct groups. By far the majority identify themselves as Arabs. Arab invaders brought the Arab language and culture to Libya between the seventh to the eleventh centuries, but intermarriage with Berbers and other indigenous peoples over the centuries has produced so mixed a strain that few Libyans can substantiate claims to pure or even predominantly Arab ancestry. These Arabic-speaking Muslims of mixed Arab and Berber ancestry make up 90 percent of the country's population. Berbers, other indigenous minority peoples, and black Africans make up most of the remainder, although small scattered groups of Greeks, Muslim Cretans, Maltese, and Armenians make up long-established communities in urban areas.

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In contrast to Tripolitania, Cyrenaica historically was oriented toward Egypt and Mashrik (East). With the exception of some of its coastal town, Cyrenaica was relatively untouched by the political influence of the regimes that claimed it but were unable to assert their authority in the hinterland. An element of internal unity was brought to the region’s tribal society in the nineteenth century, a Muslim religious order the Sanusi, and many Cyrenaicans demonstrated a determination to retain their regional autonomy even after Libyan independence and unification. Fezzan was less involved with either the Maghreb (the West) or the Mashrik (the East). Its nomads traditionally looked for leadership to tribal dynasties that controlled the oasis astride the desert trade routes. Throughout its history, Fezzan maintained close relations with sub-Saharan Africa as well as with the coast.

		The most significant milestones in Libya’s history were the introdution of Islam and the Arabization of the country in the Middle Ages, and within the last two generations, national indepenence, the discovery of petroleum, and September 1969 Revolution that brought Muammar Al ghaddafi to power. The revolution has made the first attempt to unify Libya’s diverse peoples and to create a distinct Libyan state and identity. It has created new political structures and made a determined effort at diversified economic devolopment financed by oil revenues. Although the merits of the revolution and its policies were much debated by Libyans and foreigners alike, there was no question that Libya in the 1980s was a significantly different country from the one it had been only two or three decades earlier.