I. Location
Libya is situated in the northern part of Africa and possesses a Mediterranean coastline of approximately 2.000 kilometers which is well indented with harbours, bays, sandy beaches, rocky caves and huge cliffs.
Libya has an area of approximately 1.750.000 sq km (the third largest country in Africa and five times larger than Germany) and a population of about 5 millions.
The strategic location has made Libya throughout the ages a link between the eastern, western and central regions of Africa and the continent´s gateway to Europe. It has a common frontier with Egypt to the east, Sudan to the south-east, Chad and Niger to the south and with Algeria and Tunisia to the west and north-west respectively.
II. Climate
The climate in Libya is greatly influenced by the desert to the south and the Mediterranean sea to the north. In the winter the nothern areas and the mountain peaks to the south can be fairly cold. During summer it is generally very hot between 27°C and 31°C and these can be even higher in the southern desert.
The coastal areas are refreshing with temperatures of between 25°C and 27°C. But a phenomenon during spring and autumn(although it can happen at other times) is the 'ghibli' which is a hot, very dry, sand-laden wind that can raise the temperatures in a matter of hours to between 40C and 45C. Rainfall is usually erratic but averages between 40-50cm.
III. The history of Libya
Libya is an integral part of the continent of Africa and the great Arab Nation.
It has contributed to Man´s hertage as various cultures and civilizations have flourished in this areas since the emergence of Mankind. Libya´s history was, in a sense, predestined for it by its strategic location. Throughout the ages, control of Libya was a prerequisite to domination of the Mediterranean and for this reason all the various powers that at some time or another held sway over the Mediterranean exercised control over Libya. The long list of Libya´s colonizers and conquerors, Persians, Egyptions, Phoenicions, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Spandiards, the Knights of St. John, Ottomans, Italians and finally the British indicales the important role Libya played in the moulding of African, Arabic and Mediterranean history.
The Phoenicians coming from Tyre and Sidon, developed a civilization that flourished in Oea, Sabratha and Leptis Magna under the domination of Carthage, while the Greeks, coming from the island of Thera, settled in Cyrene and the surrounding areas.
After the death of King Alexander the Great in the early part of the 4 th century B.C.
Greek domination of eastern Libya was weakened and the way became open for the Romans to invade the country. In the year 74 B.C. Libya became a Roman colony.
The Vandals occupied southern Europe and then crossed into North Africa in 429 A.D. with Libya becoming once again the victim of a foreign invader.
The Byzatine Christians conquered North Africa in 534 A.D. and when Libya fell under their domination, an era of Libyan history full of terror and oppression commenced.
The tyrannical years of the Byzantines finally ended in 642-643 A.D., when the Arab Muslims came to Libya to spread Islam. The religion of right and justice,as they say, and Libya became a part of the Islamic Nation, as they say.
The Ottoman Empire encompassed Libya from the sixteenth to the twenteeth century, except for a hundred and twenty four years of Carumanli rule.
In 1911 Libya was subjected to the Italian invasion for more than 20 years.
At the end of the second World War (1945), the Americans, British and French took the place of Italy and putting Libya under their domination and planting military bases all over the country.
In 1969, a revolution was carried out by a group of officers in the Libyan army who could not tolerate this insult and who wanted to realize the Libyan people´s dream of a prosperous, developed country, free of foreign control.
IV. Great Sahara
The south of Libya has immense desert of dunes and mirages.
The Great Libyan Sahara Desert is one of the last true wilderness environments on the planet earth. The oasis in the desert are places of calmness and tranquillity, where you can enjoy water abundance, shadow and palmtrees beauty in gorgeous and peaceful surrounding. They are islands in the Great Sea of Sand.
The Libyan desert is a wonderful and delightful world, full of character uniqueness, cultures heritage and simple pleasures. The keynotes of life in the Sahara are vastness, variety and adventure.
1. Ghadames
One beautiful oasis town is Ghadames( the southern most out post of the Roman Times), named for its unique Islamic Desert Architecture and social structure beyond which the dunes stretch for thousands of square miles.
2. Tripoli
Tripoli a beautiful city, called the bride of the Mediterranean, is the largest city in the Great Jamahirya.
It was founded by the Phoenicians in 1000 B.C. and later absorbed by the Romans.
Tripoli or Oea was liberated by the Arab Muslims in 643 A.D. Some of the ruins, bear the marks of the various civilizations that once prospered in the city.
In Tripoli you will find different kind of arch like the Roman era or the Italian era.
Awalk in the old market of Tripoli brings images of the past. The Arabic Islamic, local Libyan and Turkish cultures have combined to create Tripoli´s rich and colourful heritage.
V. The archaeological sites
Libya´s fabulous scenery, rich and colourfull culture, mild climate and abundance of sun shine, warm and quiet beaches, wild forest,.. this is but a little of what the intelligent visitor may enjoy. But Libya has also ruins and relicts of the past, all giving evidence of flourishing civilizations which in many ways are unparalleled.
1. Leptis Magna or Libda
Leptis Magna was founded by the Phoenicians in about 1000 B.C. and it was known by this name to distinguish it from Leptis in Tunisia. Libda is considered one of the oldest Phoenician settlements in North Africa. It prospered through a lively trade on gold, ivory and wild animals.
In pre- islamic times it was the capital of the three Libyan cities nowadays known as Tripolis: Leptis Magna, Sabratha and Tripoli. For six centuries, the city of Leptis Magna was used as an anchorage by Canaanite ships from Tyre and Sidon during their voyages in the Mediterranean. After the Canaanites, came the Romans (75 B.C.), who built monuments and various public buildings. Including a market place, threatres, temples, baths, a race track, a westling arena, triumphal arches and decorated mosaic floors. In the Byzantine era (533A.D.), an outer wall and some churches were built.
The principal material used in construction was hard limestone from the surrounding areas, while marble was imported from Roma, Greece and Asia Minor, and granite columns came from Egypt. The peak of Leptis Magna´s architectural splendour, can be placed at about the 2nd century A.D..
2. Sabrata
The city of Sabrata is located at the Mediterranean coast. It was founded by the Canaanites in the 6th century B.C..
Amongst the walls and foundations of public buildings discovered in the city are the market, tribunal, and the domination of Carthage, the main Phoenician settlement in Tunisia till 146 B.C. After the Canaatine, Sabarata was occupied by the Nomidians and then by the Romans in 46 B.C. The forum, the theatre, the tribunal arena, and the public baths are considered among the most prominent features of the the city during Roman times.
Sabeata prospered during the third century A.D. and became famous as trading place for the ivory coming from central Africa, through Ghadames and Fezzan. In the year 533 A.D. the Byzantines occupied the city and rebuilt much of it.
Sabrata lost its importance with the advent of Islam in the region (642 A.D.) and Tripoli became the most important trade centre in the western Libya.
