After decades of isolation, Libya is cautiously reopening to travellers and revealing extraordinary Roman ruins, layered history and a complex modern identity. World traveller, Ros Freeman, fulfils a promise to herself.
There can be no better place in Libya than sitting atop a Roman amphitheatre, gazing out over the clear blue Mediterranean. In the distance, ancient galleons once traversed these waters, sails billowing. In the foreground, orchestras played as masked mime artists danced across the stage before enthralled audiences.
A long-held dream to visit Leptis Magna became a ‘pinch me’ moment as I wandered past the Forum, Hadrian’s wall, the steam room, the nymphaeum, the gymnasium and the communal toilets where the day’s affairs were discussed. The toilets even had running water, background music to mask any indiscretions and the cold marble seats had special slaves tasked with heating them.
Founded in 500BC as a Phoenician trading port, Leptis Magna grew to a population of around 100,000 by the 3rd century AD and was second only to Rome. It became one of the Roman Empire’s most beautiful cities. It was ruled by Septimius Severus, Africa’s only Roman Emperor. Later, Nero constructed a hippodrome for chariot races and a large amphitheatre where gladiators battled panthers and public executions took place.
After repeated invasions by the Vandals, the Berbers and finally the Muslims, a massive earthquake in 365AD brought about its downfall. For 1,300 years, the site lay buried beneath layers of sand until the 1920s, when major excavations by Italian and Libyan archaeologists revealed its true majesty.
Entering Libya
I’m spending 10 days in Libya, travelling with a group of 20 and visiting three northern cities: Tripoli, Benghazi and Cyrene. For decades, Libya has had bad press. Only recently has the country opened up to tourists. Previously, visitors had to pose as oil engineers to gain access.
Getting there remains complex. A Letter of Invitation is required, and we are accompanied at all times by plain-clothed police, who prove friendly and unobtrusive.
My fellow travellers are a diverse bunch, each with a different reason to experience Libya: an interest in archaeology, a regard for brutalist architecture, a fascination for dictators, a passion for African history, a pursuit of local culture, pure curiosity, a spot of country collecting and those keen to diversify their selfies. Our bus is a Tower of Babel, with a few polyglots aboard.
It’s Ramadan while we’re here, the ninth month of the Muslim calendar, beginning with the first crescent of the moon. During the day the streets are quiet and shopfronts shuttered. Just before Iftar, when the fast is broken, road activity surges with blaring horns, raised fists and cars squeezing into impossible spaces. Everyone is hungry, cranky and impatient to get home to eat.
During Ramadan, there is less crime but more accidents. Surprisingly, or perhaps not, people often gain weight, feasting late into the night before waking early to eat again before dawn. Muslims abstain not only from food, but also from smoking and sex. Exemptions include pregnant women, nursing mothers, travellers and those over 70. Oh, the advantages of age!
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| Benghazi Mosque |
Libya is one of Africa’s largest countries. At 1.76 million square kilometres, this desert nation is also one of the world’s most sparsely populated. In simple terms, Libya’s story revolves around Roman ruins, Italian colonisation, Colonel Gaddafi and oil.
It has Africa’s largest oil reserves. Petrol is cheap, and there are no taxes, yet political instability and corruption persist. Currently, there are two governments: the Government of National Unity based in Tripoli, and the Government of National Stability based in Benghazi.
While the streets often feel calm and unhurried, it helps if your surname is not Gaddafi. Just weeks before we arrived, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the former leader’s son, was reportedly killed.
Roman ruins are scattered across northern Libya, each as impressive as the next. We quickly become amphitheatre connoisseurs, often sharing sites with flocks of sheep and goats. During our stay, we encountered only two other tourists.
In 1911, the Italians colonised Libya, building roads, railways, ports and grand civic buildings. They even established the Tripoli Grand Prix. Under Mussolini, townships were unified to form modern Libya. The Italians installed King Idris, though his reign was short-lived. After World War II, Italy relinquished control.
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| War-ravaged Benghazi |
Then came Colonel Gaddafi. Despite humble Bedouin beginnings, he styled himself a leader of global significance, even crowning himself ‘King of Kings’ and inviting African leaders to his 2008 ‘coronation’. He surrounded himself with an all-female ‘Amazonian Guard’ and maintained a famously eccentric lifestyle.
He was an unconventional traveller, refusing hotels and instead pitching his Bedouin tent in cities such as Paris, Rome and Moscow, insisting on supplies of fresh camel milk.
Yet his legacy is overshadowed by violence. Hundreds of thousands died during his rule, including 270 victims of the 1988 Pan Am Flight 103 bombing over Lockerbie. In 2011, NATO forces intervened and rebel fighters captured and killed him, ending his 42-year dictatorship.
One enduring project from his era is the Great Man-Made River, a vast pipeline system drawing water from the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer to Libya’s northern cities, supplying around 70% of the country’s fresh water.
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| The Medina, Tripoli |
Our tour is perfectly timed. In Tripoli, the National Museum has just reopened after being closed for 14 years. Inside are remarkable artefacts such as Roman sculptures, Byzantine mosaics and even a mummified child dating back to 5200BC.
Nearby, the Medina’s labyrinthine streets are lined with Ottoman-era mansions and historic buildings such as the Banco di Roma. While the bank itself is quiet, outside black-market money traders do brisk business, stacks of dinars wrapped in black plastic and ferried through narrow alleys in wheelbarrows.
Far removed from preconceptions, we revel in unexpected luxury at our Tripoli hotel.
Benghazi presents a more raw and authentic side of Libya. The Benghazi Museum, once an Ottoman structure and later an Italian military barracks, has seen use under British and Gaddafi-era regimes. We wander through its 330 rooms, with crumbling ceilings and graffiti-lined walls, these spaces are heavy with history.
On our final day, we stroll along Benghazi’s Corniche as the sun sets. Families promenade along the bay, children play and a trio of motorised hang-gliders swoop overhead.
Locals approach us, eager to talk. “Welcome to Libya,” they say, inviting us to join them for Iftar, the evening meal.
It is a fitting end to our Libyan journey, one defined as much by human warmth as by its extraordinary past.
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Disguised as a mild-mannered corporate employee, Ros lives a secret life as a world traveller and adventurer , amassing a count of more than 150 UN-recognised countries. |
Ros Freeman travelled independently at her own expense, but would not go anywhere unless Kirsty at Flight Centre Eastgardens booked her flights.
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