الجماهيرية العربية الليبية الشعبية الإشتراكية العظمى

Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

Libya Tourist Map Showing Desert Lakes & Sand Dunes

Country: Libya.
Demonym: Libyan.
Location: North Africa.
Area: fourth largest country in Africa: 1.759.540 sq. km.
Official Country Name: Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.

Despite being the home of several prehistoric civilisations and mythical mysteries Libya still ranks among the least explored countries in the world. Most people still have the old idea that Libya is downright dangerous to travel to and is a sponsor of International terrorism. In reality, however, Libya never was a dangerous country for foreign visitors to travel to, and, likewise Greenland, is one of the safest countries in the world and as such Libyan tourism is rightly becoming one the fastest growing industries in Libya. The Libyan system indicates that it does not tolerate extremism of any kind nor it allows fundamentalists to dictate what the Libyan people should say or do.

The name Rebu in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.

The Origin of The Name Libya:

The name Libya is often written in various forms including Lybia, Libia, Libye and Lebya. There are several theories attempting to explain the origin of the name, but it is almost certain that it comes from the ancient Berber tribe known to the ancient Egyptians as Rebu or Ribu; from which the Greeks derived "Libya", and which the Arabs of today's Egypt know as Lubia, whence Lubians, in line with their relatives and neighbours the Nubians. The name Libia, as found in the archaeological site of Qasr Libya or Qaser Libia, in Cyrenaica, is widely thought to have been derived from the ancient Libyan village of Olbia. According to (the African) Leo Africanus (1600, p. 13), it was called Libya by the Greek: "Because it was in old time conquered by Libs the king of Mauritania. In the holie scriptures it is called Chamesis, by the Arabians and Ethiopians Alkebulam, and by the Indians Besecath.” In the Bible the Libyans appeared as the Lubim, where the -m denotes the plural form; but after the Hebrews decided to add the letter H to several names, like Abram becoming Abraham, and Sara > Sarah, the Lubim appeared in the Old Testament as Lehabim, the son of Mizraim; which Oric Bates, in his unique book The Eastern Libyans, was the first to identify with the modern variant Ta-Mazigh-t (Tamazight), an appellation widely applied to the whole Berbers of North Africa. The proposed etymology of 'Libya'   being moisture has no support other than the Libyan wind which brought rain to Greek mainland, and, as it is obvious that the Greek Libu is merely a corruption of Egyptian Ribu following the universal rule of L = R, one does not need to propose a Greek etymology for a name that is not Greek. The proper etymology must be sought in the mother language of the given word - the ancient Libyan language. Egyptian and Berber are both members of the Hamitic branch of the Hamito-Samitic linguistic family, and many of the ancient Egyptian and Berber mythical gods and goddesses are still represented on the rock art of the great Sahara, in what is known as the largest collection of prehistoric art in the world: well over a hundred thousand sites.

Ancient Libyans as pictured by the ancient Egyptians

The Mythology of The Name Libya:

Libya was also the name of the Goddess known to the Greeks as the Goddess Libya, and also of the whole continent before the Romans named it Africa after the Berber Goddess Afri. In mythology, the Goddess Libya had three sons by the Libyan Sea-God Poseidon: Belus, Agenor and Lelex. King Belus ruled  at Chemmis or Chamesis of Leo Africanus,  Agenor migrated to Cana'an (the Middle East), and Lelex became king of Megara. The wife of Belus Anchinoe, daughter of the Nile-god Nilus, bore him three sons: Aegyptus, Danaus and Cepheus, and  one daughter:  Lamia, the Libyan Snake-goddess. The myth relates an interesting "deception tale" in which Danaus was sent to rule Libya where he had fifty daughters, and Aegyptus, who had fifty sons, ruled over Egypt.

The Political Name of Libya:

The actual name Libya, as a modern country, came into effect for the first time around 1934 when the provinces of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica were united as Libya during the Italian occupation; initially Fezzan was not included, but after independence the three provinces were united as one country, when on the 24th of December 1951 Libya was declared as the United Kingdom of Libya. Shortly after the great revolution of the First of September, 1969, led by Colonel Mua’mmar al-Qaddafi, Libya became known as the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, where the last word (which is also spelt as Jamahiriyyah, Jamahiria, or Aljamahiria), became synonymous with Libya. The term Jamahiriya was coined by Colonel Mua'mmar al-Qaddafi and defined as: the state of the masses, governed by the populace via local councils elected by the people of Libya. Gaddafi's revolutionary ideas are outlined in his Green Book. Unlike most flags, the national flag of Libya is made of one colour: green : the colour of life & prosperity.

Map of Libya & North Africa Prior to WW2, Showing The Country Tripoli (in green).

This map shows how Libya looked like during the colonial periods.   As mentioned above, there was no such thing as Libya then; there was only an Italian-occupied country (regency) called TRIPOLI. In 1917-1918 the Republic of Tripoli was created to become the first ever republic in the Arab world. The republic, also called Tripolitania Republic, which involved Berber elements in the leadership, did not gain enough support in the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, even though was fully recognised by Italy, and consequently disappeared from history by 1923. A look at the map of Egypt (bordered red) shows traces of the ancient Libya, as in "Libyan Desert", and "Libyan Plat." (The Libyan Plateau). The British-controlled Sudan extends quite a distance in today's Libya and Chad.

Map of Ancient Libya, showing the locations of the native Libyan tribes of Egypt.

Whereas the above ancient map of Libya, which is over 2000 years older than the colonial map, shows there was no Egypt, just a huge expanse of land known to classical geographers and historians as Libya, to the extent that the name Libya also came to designate the whole of the continent of Africa. For more information about the native inhabitants of ancient Libya, including the Berber tribes of the Delta and the western banks of the Nile, please visit The Temehu Tribes of Ancient Libya . When the Romans arrived through the western parts of Libya (Tripolitania and Tunisia), they adopted the name Aprica or Africa from the Berber name of the local tribes who inhabited the region, and thereafter Libya became known as Africa. This means that the names "Libya" and "Africa" are both Berber in origin.

Ancient Libyans

Statistical Information & Facts About The Country of Libya:

• Official name: Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.
• International name: Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, or Libya.
• Capital: Tripoli.
• Area: 1.759.540 sq. km.
• Coastline: 1,770 km.
• Official holiday: Friday.
• Population: 6,036,914.
• Literacy: 82.6%.
• Independence: 24/12/1951.
• Revolution: 01/09/1969.
• GDP per capita: $16,000.
• GDP based on PPP: $91 Billion.
• Internet domain name (TLD): .ly
• Workweek: Sunday to Thursday.
• Mobile: GMS 900 & 1800 networks.
• Telephone: country code: +218; Tripoli: 021.
• Driving: on the right-hand-side of the road.
• Local Time: Greenwich Mean Time + 2 hours (UTC+2).
• Religion: Sunni Muslim, Abadite Muslim.
• Alcohol: all alcoholic drinks are prohibited.
• Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, gypsum.
• Weights: kilograms, measurements: meter.
• Life expectancy: 77 years (women), 72 years (men).
• Monetary unit (currency): Libyan Dinar (LYD).
• Climate: Mediterranean along the coast; dry desert in the interior.
• Average annual rainfall: 400 mm.
• Average January Temperature: 12 degrees centigrade (about 53 degrees Fahrenheit).
• Average July Temperature: 40 degrees centigrade (about 104 degrees Fahrenheit).
• Ethnic groups: Arab and Berber (97%); Africans, Asians, Europeans (3%).
• Post:   ordinary and express mail; international DHL available in large cities.
• Electricity: 220, 230, 240 volts - 50 Hz (plugs: two round pins, and tree square pins).
• Industries: petroleum, textiles, handicrafts, cement and food processing.
• Working hours Summer: 7:30 am to 2:30 pm; Winter: 8:00 am to 3:00 pm.
• Natural Hazards: sand storms; hot, dry, dust-laden wind (gibli) in Spring and Autumn.
• Emergency telephone line: 193 - equivalent to 999 (UK), or 911 (USA).
• Major Exports: (US$37 billion, mostly from crude oil and refined petroleum products): Italy (38%), Germany (15%), Spain (9%), France (6%), Turkey (6%), U.S. (5%).
• Major Imports: (US$14.47 billion, mostly of machinery, transport equipment, food, manufactured goods): Italy (21.2%), Germany (10%), Tunisia (6%), UK (5%), Turkey (5%), France (5%), South Korea (5%), China (4%).
• Terrorism: Libya is the only country in North Africa where terrorists do not exist. Fundamentalists have no voice whatsoever in Libya. Not a single terror-incident has been recorded in Libya.
• Location: North Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria, southern border with Niger, Chad and Sudan.

Administrative Divisions of Libya:

The administrative divisions or municipalities are known as sha'biyat or shabiyat (شعبيات الجماهيرية العظمى), which can be translated as '*populates'. At the highest level, Libya is divided into three regions or provinces: Tripolitania, with its capital Tripoli; Cyrenaica, with Benghazi as its capital; and Fezzan, with Sabha being the modern capital. These then became the three (mouh'afadat or muhafazat [governorates]), compromising twenty five districts (baladiyat), which were later replaced by thirty two sha'biyat (plus three administrative regions), before they were finally reduced to twenty two districts (sha'biyahat).

Administrative Divisions of Libya.

The current administrative municipalities include:

An-Nuqat Al-Khams (1), Az-Zawyah (2), Tarabulus (Tripoli) (3), Al-Murgub (4), Mesratha (5), Surt (6), Al-Wahat (7), Benghazi (8), Al-Marj (9), Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar (10), Darnah(11), Al-Butnan (12), Al-Kufra (13), Murzuq (14), Aj-Jufrah (15), Sabha (16), Wadi Al-Hayat (17), Ghat (18),Wadi As-Shati (19), Nalut (20), Al-Jabal Al-Gharbi (21), Aj-Jfarah (22).

The Libyan Shabiyat in Arabic

Demographic Data:

The population density varies from region to region. For example, along the coast and in the regions of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica the density is about 50 persons per a square kilometre, while in Fezzan it drops to less than one person - the reason, of course, being nothing other than the huge expanse of barren sand we know as desert. The ethnic groups of Libya are mainly Arabs, Berbers (including Tuareg), Hausa and Tebu. There are also immigrant communities, mostly from North African countries, like Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco; the Middle East; Sub-Saharan Africa; and a very small number from European and Asian countries.

The Flag & Coat of Arms of Libya:

The Coat of Arms of Libya: The Hawk. (Colour hues may vary.)

The Flag of Libya: pure green.

History of Libya:

Libya's strategic location has made it one of the most coveted and fought-over countries in the world: the ancient Pharaohs, the Phoenician traders, the Greek colonists and the Roman tyrants have all conquered parts of Libya. Then, as history repeats itself, the barbaric European powers of the dark Middle Ages pillaged, destroyed and killed whatever stood in their way to Tripoli. And finally the super powers of the modern age, namely the Italians, the French, the Germans and the British, have all further contributed to the destruction of Libya, where nothing had remained of old Benghazi; where more than 100000 Libyans have disappeared from Cyrenaica alone; and where Cyrenaica was bombed more than 1000 times during World War II alone. Italy is one of the very few countries that has compensated the Libyans for the crimes they committed during the wars; while other countries are yet to voice their much-due apology.

The positive side of Libya's history, however, is that as Greek historians and scholars were among the first to preserve in history, Libya was the home of civilization Osiris & Isis made known "to the savage world". According to Herodotus, the Greek Father of History, the ancient Libyans were the first to know civilisation and no one knew of Poseidon and Athena before them. Among the things invented by the ancient Libyans are the wheel, the chariot, the banking system (the Berber fortified granaries are a good surviving example of this), and the flute. The advancements made by the ancient Libyans in the fields of art, science, mythology and now mummification still are too complex to tackle and catalogue, as made difficult by the hundreds of thousands of prehistoric art paintings and engravings still lay scattered across Acacus waiting to be seen and then processed. Herodotus also reported that the Libyan Berber Nasamons were the first to venture into the Sahara and as such were the first northern people known to history to explore the Sahara desert - and yet conspicuously they never appear in any of the travel books covering the explorers of the Sahara. North Africa was originally inhabited by an indigenous group of  ancient Berber tribes whose linguistic unity proves that an ethnic sub-stratum of "autochthones" single race existed in North Africa from the Mediterranean to the Sudan and from the Atlantic to the Red Sea. These people spoke a Hamitic language which together with ancient Egyptian, Chadic, Ethiopian, Semitic and Omotic make up the Afro-Asiatic family of languages - now thought to be the nucleus of many other major world language families.

1 - Ancient Libya:

Libya's ancient history goes back millions of years, but it is enough here to start from the most important Neanderthal site in Libya, namely the Cave of Haua Fteah' in eastern Libya - the largest cave in the Mediterranean basin, providing continuous archaeological record from 100,000 years ago to the present. According to C.B.M McBurney (Libya in History, p. 7), 90000 years ago Eastern Libya was occupied by an exceptionally inventive and the most advanced group of Paleolithic hunters so far known to have existed at the time. Then around 40000 years ago Libya was occupied by the large-brained Cro-Magnon - the direct ancestors of the Berbers and the Iberians. Cultural evidence from southern Libya, particularly from Fezzan, the home of the classical Garamantes Kingdom, goes back to more than 30000 years. Around 12000 years ago heavy rainfalls slowly turned the Sahara to lush-green land once more, and consequently a number of civilisations flourished in the area, leaving behind rich representations of what life once was. The breathtaking treasures of the Sahara's prehistoric drawings and engravings are perhaps the best measure for the level of civilisation attained by these advanced peoples. (See our prehistoric galleries for more on these civilisations.)

2 - Libyan Amazons:

Libya is the home of a rich mythology concerning the Libyan Amazon women warriors. It was said that these women lived a life of battle and worshipped the mother goddess, somewhere in western Libya (around Lake Tritonis) and in Cyrenaica, where they had ties with the Amazons of Anatolia and Greece. The son of the Libyan Poseidon himself, namely Theseus, was said to have married the queen of the Libyan Amazons. (See History for more on the Libyan Amazons.)

3 - Ancient Egyptian Libya (3300 BC - 750 BC):

During the time of the Pharaohs Libya's borders extended all the way to the river Nile, as told by various geographers and historians including Strabo and Herodotus. These areas were inhabited by various Libyan tribes including the Temehu, the Tehenu, the  Ribu, and the Meshwesh. When Greek and Roman historians arrived in Libya and Egypt, the name Ribu became Libu, whence present day “Libya”, and the name Meshwesh became Masuch (Herodotus), Maksiz (Ptolemy) and Mazic (Latin inscriptions), whence present day Tamazight, and thus Imazighen: the indigenous inhabitants of North Africa as a whole.  The Palermo stone, the oldest document in the world, further illustrates the antiquity of the Libyans in Lower Egypt by listing a succession of Libyan pre-Dynastic kings and queens from Lower Egypt, long before the menace of Menes. Ever since, the Berbers were attempting to regain control over Lower Egypt and the Libyan Desert Oases. It seems that they had managed to find their way back into the Egyptian army of the pharaohs, and some even rose to high positions in the palace; eventually leading the Libyans to regain complete control over Egypt about (ca. 945 BC) by establishing the Libyan Dynasties on the hands of the King Shishenq or Shishonk. The Libyan dynasties continued to rule until the 25th dynasty; shortly after which the Pharaohs have disappeared from history altogether. (See Temehu for more on the ancient Egyptian period.)

4 - The Phoenician Period (1000 BC - 200 BC):

In the legend of Dido the Berber king Iarbas granted Dido as much land as could be covered by an ox-hide. The agreement was that the Phoenicians can stay and conduct business in the Mediterranean on peaceful terms - and this they happily did. The Phoenicians quickly adopted Berber gods and goddesses, like the Libyan Goddess Tannit and the God Amon, and established several colonies in Libya, including Leptis Magna, Oea (Tripoli), Sabratha, and Carthage (Qert Hadasht ' The New Village'). By 517 BC, the powerful Carthage was the leading city in North Africa, controlling the entire North African coast from Tripolitania to the Atlantic Ocean, and eventually the Berber-phoenician empire brought terror to the Romans' hearts. Seeing danger on their footsteps, the Romans, after Hannibal's daring 12-years siege of Rome, diverted the war to Carthage, where the Carthaginian government recalled Hannibal from Rome to defend the capital; only to be let down and loose control of the whole campaign. With Hannibal and Carthage out of the way, Rome was ready to spread terror around the Mediterranean world.

5 - The Greek Period:

The Greek colonists arrived in Eastern Libya in the 7th century BC, apparently on the advice given to them by their gods, and soon afterwards they colonised five cities in Cyrenaica, which later became known as the Pentapolis ('the Five Cities of Cyrene, Apollonia, Ptolemais, Taucheira and Berenice'). The Berber areas, further inland, remained free from Greek rule, many of which have led a number of revolts against the Greeks. The Greeks also attempted to start another colony near Leptis Magna, but local Libyan and Carthaginian resistance proved to be fatal and as a result they retreated to Cyrenaica - perhaps feeling closer to Apollo's home; whence Apollonia. About two hundred years later, the Greek influence began to dwindle and the last Greek ruler, Ptolemy Apion, finally surrendered Cyrenaica to Rome.

6 - The Roman Period:

The bloody Roman invasions of Libya proved to be disastrous in many ways. Carthage was destroyed completely and then grazed to the ground. The marble columns and slabs that once held Carthage high in the sky were taken and sent to Rome for recycling. Shortly after the Carthaginian-Roman battle at Zama, the Berber kingdoms began to suffer the impact of the Roman invasions and by 46 BC Julius Caesar deposed the final Numidian king, Juba I; and thereafter Tripolitania was incorporated into the province of Africa Proconsularis to begin the export of goods to Rome. By the end of the first century AD Rome had completed the pacification of Sirtica and Cyrenaica was handed over to them by the Greeks. Under the influence of the Libyan-Berber Roman emperor Septimius Severus Libya enjoyed a massive development as witnessed by the spectacular achievements built in Leptis Magna, Tripoli and Sabratha. Then in the 5th century (around 431 AD) Libya was taken over by the Germanic vandals, who remained in charge until the arrival of the Muslims in the 7th century AD.

7 - The Muslim Period:

The arrival of Islam in North Africa began around 642 AD when Umr Ibn Al-A's, under the command of the Caliph Umr I, arrived in Cyrenaica from Egypt and successfully established his base at Barqa (Cyrenaica). From the Green Mountain he then moved farther west and reached Tripolitania where he removed the last Byzantine garrisons and took control of Tripoli; effectively marking a new period of Libyan history which continues to this day. Then the Caliph sent Uqba Bin Nafi, who moved towards Fezzan in 663 and took Germa, the capital of the Garamantean Kingdom, and then moved on the Roman province of Africa (Western Libya including today's Tunisia) in 670 AD, where he established another military base at Al Qayrawan. From this base he began to plan his attack on Byzantine Carthage (or what had remained of Carthage), which he finally took in 693 AD. Shortly after their arrival in Morocco the Muslim army, under the command of the Berber general Tarek Ben Zeyyad, crossed the sea and moved on Spain, where they completed the Islamisation of North Africa.

8 - The Modern Period:

The modern period was characterised by the violent Mediterranean wars during the 14th and 15th centuries between various powers including the Turkish Ottomans and the Spanish. The same scenarios were enacted again during the early 20th century, using modern machinery which brought greater destruction to the area, between the Italians, the British and the Germans; most of whom have their own cemeteries in today's Tobruk. After the brutal two wars the British succeeded in granting independence to Libya by appointing King Idris as King of the Libyan Kingdom in the 24th of December 1951. And finally, shortly after Gaddafi's revolution of the First of September 1969, Libya became known as the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. (See History for more on these periods.)

Geography:

Geographically speaking, Libya is the African gate through which early human civilisations found their way to Egypt, the Middle East, Asia and Europe. Libya's strategic location was equally responsible for the successive waves of invasions throughout history, from the arrival of the Phoenicians down to Hitler's attack on Tobruk. Libya is located in North Africa and is bordered by the Mediterranean sea from the north, Egypt from the East, Tunisia and Algeria from the west, and Niger, Chad and Sudan from the south. Libya is the fourth largest country in Africa (1.759.540 sq. km), and its coastline is the longest in any Mediterranean country: about 1900 kilometres of sand beaches, like those of Zwara and Janzur, clear water, and pure hot sunshine. Although Libya is not a top tourist destination, yet, it has a great deal to offer to the world of tourism and exploration. Well preserved prehistoric archaeological sites, the best preserved Roman architecture outside Italy, Greek remains, the largest desert in the world: the Great Sahara, the largest collection of prehistoric paintings and engravings in the world, remains of unseen prehistoric civilizations, spectacular Berber granaries and culture, diving sites and underwater archaeological treasures, the least spoiled beaches in the whole of the Mediterranean world, beautiful oases, kaleidoscopic salt lakes and sand seas, and awesome chains of mountains and valleys. Hence tourism is Libya's fastest growing sector, and several of the newly established Libyan tour operators have successfully attracted foreign tourists, mainly from Germany, Holland, Spain, Italy,  Switzerland and Japan.  Overall, Libya possesses a unique treasure not only the world is eager to explore, but also the Libyan people are desperate to see and enjoy. In an article published in Aljamahiria Newspaper, some Libyans publicly voiced their concerns over the lack of any Libyan tour operators promoting tourism for the local people, and called for Libyan companies and the Libyan Secretariat of Tourism to publish and distribute brochures across the whole of Libya so that the Libyans themselves become aware of their ancient and unique culture that UNESCO regards as world heritage.

Land Borders & Seaports of Libya:

Only Ras Jdayr (the Tunisian border) and Emsaad (the Egyptian border) are used internationally. Foreign visitors and tourists can enter and exit Libya via these land border points. But the other border points mentioned below are for local use only, and tourists are not allowed to pass through them.

Land Border:

• Ras Ejdayr (Tunisian-Libyan border), also spelt as: Ras Ejdir, Ras Jdayr.
• Emsaad (Egyptian-Libyan border), also spelt as Amsa'ad.
• Debdab (Algerian-Libyan border), Ghadames.
• Wazen (Tunisian-Libyan border), Nalut.
• Ghat or Tenalkum (Algerian-Libyan border), Ghat.
• Ethoom or Alqatroun (Niger & Chad-Libyan border).
• Alkufra  (Sudan-Libyan  border).

Seaports:

• Zuwarah
• Tripoli
• Misratha
• Khoms
• Ras Lanuf
• Briga Commercial
• Darna
• Benghazi
• Tobruk

Libya Tourist Map Showing The Main Sites of Interest In The Sahara.

The Climate:

If you are a sun lover then the weather in Libya is normally good for most of the year; although we do have a winter as well. The highest temperature in the world was recorded in Libya on the 13th of September 1922, in el-Azizia, close to Tripoli: a staggering 136.4 degree Fahrenheit.

During the period between May and October the coastal temperature can rise to 38 C (100F), while in the southern parts of the country it can reach 50C. In our view, we recommend that the best time to visit Libya is between late October and late April, when the temperature is generally mellow.   However, be prepared as winter temperatures, especially at night, can drop to below 0C. Snow does fall sometimes in Libya, but only in the mountains, just like in Algeria or Morocco’ s Jebel Toubkal – North Africa’ s highest peak (4167 km). If you visit Libya in the spring, then you may encounter the massive Gibli winds – a dry, hot, sand-blasting wind and blizzards, most often rendering visibility very poor, and dizzying at times. Another bizarre feature of the Sahara is the sand seas, or formation of shifting sand dunes, some of which are several hundred meters high. It is common to find archaeological artifacts, like flints, stone tools, pottery shreds and bones, scattered across the surface of the Sahara, many of which were looted by tourists and other visitors. By the beaches of Libya, especially those west and east of Zuwara city, one can expect a friendly cool breeze, breaking from the sea.

When To Visit Libya:

• Coastal Libya: you can visit the coastal areas across the whole year.
• Western Libya: the best time is between September and May.
• Eastern Libya: ideal time to visit is between September and June.
• Sahara desert region: October - March: temperature drops below zero at night.
• Best time to visit Libya: October to November: not hot nor cold; just warm & clear sky.
• Sun lovers: for beach holiday and serious tanning: May to August.
• Definitely no for desert tours: May - August.

Economy:

The Libyan economy, one of the richest in Africa, is largely fuelled by oil. Libya has one of the highest GDPs per person in Africa, despite the rise of unemployment, which currently stands at 21%. The manufacturing power of Libya accounts for nearly 21% of GDP, primarily from agricultural products, iron, and petrochemicals. Libya has a powerful social security system, and provides free housing, health services and education to all Libyans. Recent economic reforms have brought major changes to the Libyan economic system, including inviting international investors and foreign bankers to invest in Libya's free trade zones; privatising government owned companies; and opening the country to tourism. It was estimated that Libya will eventually be able to handle 10 million tourists a year.

Energy & Oil:

The exploration of oil began in 1955, and by 1959 Libya's first oil fields were discovered at Amal and Zelten. The oil industry in Libya is run by the state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC), with several smaller subsidiaries and some foreign firms. Libya's high quality crude oil is low in sulphur and produced at a very low cost, which makes it very valuable to foreign investors. According to official energy statistics from the US government ( EIA ), Libya holds the largest proven oil reserves in Africa, about 41.5 billion barrels as of January 2007; and still remains highly unexplored, as current agreements with oil companies only cover 25 percent of Libya. About 90 percent of Libya's oil is sold to Western Europe. Owing to the imposed international sanctions Libya has more oil than its aging equipment can process. It has now, after the recent lifting of the sanctions, resumed the purchase of parts and equipment to upgrade its refining and producing capacities. Although most of Libya's current power plants are oil-generated, several stations have been converted to natural gas. Libya's gas reserves were estimated at about 70 trillion cubic feet (tcf), and it is thought that there are substantial reserves both onshore and offshore. Projects to utilize natural gas include the 800-megawatt power plant in Zwara (Zuwarah), a 600-megawatt Western Mountain Power Project, a 1,400-megawatt power plant to be located on the coast between Benghazi and Tripoli, and the 1,200-megawatt Gulf Stream combined power and desalination complex in Sirt. Libya currently possesses an electric power production capacity of about 5 gigawatts, with plans to more than double the capacity by 2010. There are rumours that Libya's state-owned General Electricity Company (GEC) may allow private companies to invest in the Libya's power generation and distribution sectors. The GEC's largest current project is to expand the country's network of power substations, concentrated mainly in Benghazi, Sabha and Tripoli. Crude oil prices: the world's oil reserves will run out very soon, and some countries like Dubai, according to experts, has only 8 more years of oil production. Hence the leaders of the western powers have been urging other countries for sometime now to invest in renewable energy and nuclear power as a long term solution for the energy crisis. This means that once the earth's resources are used up, focus will be shifted towards the sky and the rest of the solar system for energy, like wind, light and planetary mining. The sun is the best example there is about nuclear energy: extremely efficient, free, and clean. Britain, the most advanced country in utilising wind power, has pledged to free Britain from its dependence on oil and continues to invest in renewable and nuclear energy. In a recent American-Libyan scientific cooperation (2008), the two countries have agreed to study the earth, the sun and the other members of the family as one system. The most significant new discoveries, since the discovery of el-Bouri field in 1976, have been in the Fezzan, southern Libya, in the Murzuq basin, like el-Sharara field, which produces around 200,000 bbl/d. In October 1997 large reserves, estimated at around 700 million barrels, were discovered at the NC-174 Block, 465 miles south of Tripoli, also in Murzuq, but production did not start until February 2004, at around 10,000 bbl/d. In August 2003, production started at the Al Jurf offshore oilfield in Block 137, with an estimated output of around 40,000 bbl/d.

Oil Refineries:

• Ras Lanuf Export Refinery: located on the Gulf of Sirte, with a crude oil refining capacity of 220,000 bbl/d
• Az Zawiya refinery: located in northwestern Libya, with crude processing capacity of 120,000 bbl/d
• Tobruk Refinery: with crude capacity of 20,000 bbl/d
• Brega Refinery: located in northeastern Libya, with crude capacity of 10,000 bbl/d
• Sarir Refinery: a topping facility, with 10,000 bbl/d of capacity

Agriculture:

Although only   about 2 percent of Libya's land is arable and agricultural production is limited, agriculture in Libya is a growing business. Before the discovery of oil in 1950s agriculture supplied about 26% of GDP, some of which was exported; by 1978 this figure was reduced to a mere 2%. Analysts blame the advent of oil industries which enticed many peasants to migrate to the wealthy cities. However, the value of food imports was more than 37% greater than it had been in 1950s. Currently, agriculture employs about 14 % of Libya's workforce. Several projects and initiatives were established after the September revolution. The largest project to come out of the 1981-85 agricultural development was the Great Man-Made River (GMMR) - a massive water pipeline planned to transport water to urban and some arid desert areas. Agricultural credit and substantial amounts of funds were made available to the Libyan people by the National Agricultural Bank, thereby encouraging nearly 20% of the labour force to remain in the agricultural sector. Despite this massive development, agriculture accounted for about 3.5% of GDP.

Food:

Today, approximately 80% of Libya's food is imported. Libya's Food Buying Agency NASCO buys about 400 thousand metric tons (400 TMT) of durum, 350 TMT of bread wheat, and 400-800 TMT of flour and semolina per year. Most of Libya's bread-wheat comes from the EU, while Canada and Syria are major suppliers of durum. The main crops produced in Libya include wheat, barley, palm dates, olives, figs, grapes, apples, oranges, watermelons, tomatoes, cucumber, almonds, apricots, peaches, truffles, vegetables, peanuts and soybeans. Food in Libya includes a wide variety of local and foreign dishes, like European, Indian and Chinese. At the top of the list of traditional dishes are couscous and bazin. Most restaurants and cafes provide a menu very similar to the menus found elsewhere in North Africa and Europe, like steak, scallop, burgers, roast chicken, rice, pasta, soups, sandwiches, etc. Food during desert and camping tours will be prepared by our specialist chefs who will accompany us on their own kitchen-vehicle. They will be more than happy to prepare special meals for vegetarians and vegans. Couscous is originally a local North African dish, made of wheat or barley semolina, rolled into tiny balls (the size of half rice grain) and then steamed on top of a sauce made of tomato puree, mild spices, garlic, olive oil, chick peas, vegetable and meat (or fish), depending on type.   The Bazin is also made of wheat or barley, boiled in water until forms a hard doughy lump, which then is knead several times to achieve a certain consistency and then placed in the middle of a large bowl, with the sauce around it, and eaten with fingers: driving the fingers in the dough, breaking a small bit, mixing it with the sauce several times until it becomes soft, and then thrown into the mouth to be further chewed and swallowed. It is really the hard way to eat. Tea and coffee are served without milk, and Green tea is normally served after a meal to aid digestion. All other types of drinks are also available, with the exception of alcoholic drinks which are illegal.

The Internet in Libya

Internet cafes are widely available and provide free access to the Internet that is not free of charge - you would expect to pay a pound or two for one hour access. Yahoo and hotmail emails are the most popular webmails among the Libyans. The speed, however, is still mostly dial-up (at 0.40 LYD per hour for home use only). Some new companies started to provide high speed DSL Internet connection (which is only 256 kbps download). The Phoenicia Group (in partnership with other companies) have recently agreed to provide VSAT connectivity solutions to selected Libyan institutions. VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) is a satellite Internet system without cable-based infrastructure (wireless), which is ideal for companies operating in the desert like oil and gas companies, as well as for the government, military and corporate clients. The Group also provides a 3G-based satellite Internet service launched by Inmarsat (about 428 Kbps), using a mobile lap-top sized terminal which can be set up almost anywhere worldwide. This services is known as BGAN (Broadband Global Area Network). The most recent service to enter the market is the wireless internet from Libyana Net, where a personal package provides 1 GB a month at up to 3.6 Mb/Sec for a one-off payment of 335 Libyan Dinars and then 15 LYD per a month, with 5 LYD for each additional 1MB ( http://www.libyana.ly/).

Official Libyan Websites:

Libyan General People's Congress (http://www.gpc.gov.ly)
Libyan General People's Committee for Health (http://www.health.gov.ly)
Libyan General People's Committee for Justice (http://www.aladel.gov.ly)
Libyan General People's Committee for Culture (http://www.alelam.net/New/)
Libyan General People's Committee for Higher Education (http://www.higheredu.gov.ly)
Libyan General People's Committee for Media and Culture (http://www.alelam.net)
Libyan General People's Committee for Economics and Commerce (http://www.ect.gov.ly)
Libyan General People's Committee for Foreign Liaison and International Cooperation (http://www.foreign.gov.ly)
Libyan Board of Tourism And Traditional Industries (http://www.libyan-tourism.org/)

References & Further Resources:

• Herodotus: the fourth, fifth, and sixth books. Ed. and annot. Macan. London. 1895.
• Libya, Anthony Ham, Lonely Planet Publications, 2007.
• C.B.M. McBurney, Libya in History.
• Saif Al-Islam Muammar Al-Gaddafi unveiled a $3bn plan to protect Libya's archaeological sites (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6989977.stm)
• MSNBC: Libyan Tourism Minister Ammar Eltaye says Libya intends to attract 10 million tourists a year (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5210117).
• New York Times: A Green Resort Is Planned to Preserve Ruins and Coastal Waters (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/16/science/16liby.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1).
• BBC - Timeline: Libya, a chronology of key events in the history of Libya (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/country_profiles/1398437.stm).
• Encyclopædia Britannica: Libya (http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-46562/Libya).
• Encyclopædia Britannica: History of Libya (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/339615/history-of-Libya)
• C.B.M. McBurney, The Stone Age of Northern Africa.
• C.B.M. McBurney, Prehistory And Pleistocene Geology In Cyrenaican Libya.
• Wiedemann, A　Stelac of Libyan origin. In PSBA, xi. (1889), P. 227.
• Mohammed Mostafa Bazama, "Libya fi al-Tarikh" - [Taatir al-Libiyyin fi al-H'adaratain al-Mesriyyah wa al-Yunaniyyah　wa taatiruhom　 beha] = "The Influense of the Libyans on the Egyptian and Greek civilizations and by them": , Egypt.
• Bates Oric. The Eastern Libyans.　 Macmillan and Co., Limited. 1914. In (SOAS). London.( Riprint : 1970 ).
• Reynolds, J. M., Oiwen　 Brogan and D. Smith,　 "Inscriptions in the Libyan alphabet from Ghirza in Tripolitania", Antiquitv, 32, 112-1 1 5.1958.
• El-Bekri, Abu 'Ubeyd 'Abd Allah Ibn 'Abd el-'Aziz Abi Mus'ab. Description de l'Afrique septentrionale. Ed. de Slane, Algiers. 1857.
• Renouf, P. le P. Who were the Libyans ? In PSBA, vol. xiii. (1891) P. 599 sqq.
• Ayra, G. Tripoli e il suo clima .　 Turin . 1896.
• Admiralty, British, Char No. 664-449 : Mediterranean Sea.
• Aymo, J. Les cris de Ghadames , Bull. de liaison saharienne, X, 1959, 21-26
• Aelianus, Claudius. De animalium natura. Ed. Hercher.　　 Leipizg . 1886.
• Alexander Myndensis. Frag. ap. Athenaeum, Deipnos. v. 20.
• Alexander Polyhistor. Frag. ap. Steph. Byz.　
• Anonymous. History of the war between the United States　 and Tripoli, etc. Salem. 1806.
• Apuleius Lucius, "The Transformations Of Lucius": The Golden Ass. 120-180 A.D.