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.

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.