Libya

The Origin of The Name Libya
The name Libya comes from the ancient
Berber tribe known to the ancient Egyptians as Rebu, Ribu or Libu.
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.”
Egyptian and Berber are both members of the Hamitic linguistic group
of the Hamito-Samitic family, and many of the ancient Egyptian
and Berber 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. 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 look for a Greek etymology for a name that
is not Greek. The proper etymology must be sought in the mother language
of the given word.
Libya was also the name of the Goddess known to the Greeks by that name (the Goddess Libya), and 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 actual name Libya, as a 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 later the three provinces were united as
one Kingdom. The name Libya is also written as Lybia, Libia, Libië,
Libye and Líbia. 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 the Col. Mua'mmar al-Qaddafi and defined as: "the
state of the masses",
governed by the populace via local councils elected by the people.

Despite being the home of prehistoric civilizations and mythical
mysteries, Libya still ranks among the least explored in the
world. Geographically speaking, Libya is the African gate through which
early human civilizations found their way to Egypt, the Middle East,
Asia and Europe. Her 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. As
Plutarch and Diodorus were the first to preserve in history, Libya
was the home of civilization Osiris & Isis made
known to the savage world, long before Babylon came to be divinely
confused. According to Herodotus, the classical Greek Father of History,
the ancient Libyans were the first to know civilization and no one knew
of Poseidon and Athena before them. Among the things invented by the
ancient Libyans are the wheel, banking system, and the flute (a fact
later confirmed by archaeology, when a bone-flute was found among the
remains in the Libyan cave of 'Haua Fteah' which has a continuous
record going back 100,000 years). Herodotus also reported that the 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.

Ancient Libyans as pictured by the ancient Egyptians
Libya is the
fourth largest country in Africa (1.759.540 sq. km), and its coastline
is the longest in any Mediterranean country: 1770 kilometres of sand
beaches, like those of Zuwarah and
Janzour, 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 the country'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.

|