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Travel to Libya
First a quick question. You know the Marines' Hymn, the part that goes "to the shores of Tripoli!", who here knows where that comes from? What battle, historical event, I mean? The answer is provided on the next page if you click "next page"
OK, now down to business. Travel to Libya. Only recently did the country's somewhat deranged leader Col. Muammar Qaddafi start welcoming US tourists to the country. And only recently did the US and the UN lift sanctions on traveling there. Before that, most international airlines could not fly to Libya, and the country remained a kind of international pariah. But now, with a new Ministry of Tourism making pretty pamphlets and a recently-hired British PR agency helping burnish the country's image, Libya is becoming one of the hot new destinations. History buffs will delight in scrambling over Libya's spectacular seaside Roman ruins which, let's face it, would be thronged with tourists if they were almost anywhere else. But the numbers show that tourism is still in its infancy. Just 350,000 tourists visited the country in 2003, a number that is expected to triple by 2010.
So now is really a good time to consider a trip to Libya. And for inspiration, herewith I provide a link to a nice story in the Sydney Morning Herald on travel to Libya that will certainly whet your appetite to travel there. As you will read, it's still rough. Amenities are scarce and the infrastructure is in need of repair, but that's what makes travel to a place like Libya interesting. Once the tourist hordes discover the place and the knick-knack shops start popping up like mushrooms after a storm, well, we'll miss these early days.
(answer:)
OK, The Tripoli reference is an allusion to the First Barbary War when on April 27, 1805 U.S. Marines and Berbers under the command of William Eaton & Lt. Presley O�Bannon attacked the Tripolitan city of Derna. For the longest time, I thought it had something to do with World War II, but that�s because I am a doofus and forgot the Hymn was composed long before that.
Filed under: Arts and Culture, History, Business, Blogs, Stories, Libya
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jon Dec 18th 2005 5:08PM
I planned a trip to Libya a couple of years ago, there's a ferry from Italy. I got put off cos at the time (it might have changed) the Libyans insisted on you having an armed escort (not entirely unwelcome if you want to go into the empty desert), and it was also when Libya stopped being 'one of them' and became 'one of us' so there was so many journo's heading there it suddenly got very expensive. But the real kicker was you had to give an itinery beforehand, and you couldn't deviate from it. Might not be a problem, but I like to be a bit more unplanned...
Moody75 Dec 18th 2005 5:08PM
Thanks for your article on travel to my home country, Libya.
Libya certainly has a lot to offer the adventure traveller...1000+ miles of Mediterranean beaches, beautiful desert, roman and greek antiquities, etc. However it must be understood that without the mass-tourism other places have comes a lack of tourism infrastructure. Don't go to Libya expecting hotels where stuff doesn't break and where your fillet mignon is cooked to perfection. Libyan society is still very much family centered and people don't eat out much. If you do find yourself in Libya always take up the numerous offers to eat or stay in people's homes as it will be the best experience of that country. It is normal for someone to take a budget traveller in and then take a few days (sometimes weeks) to show that person around. I know my family has certainly done it a number of times :-)
Alternatively, for the less budget conscious there are some pretty good 2-3 week organized tours that are advertised in British newspapers (about $3k per person).
Libya is a very young tourism destination and should be treated as such.
Erik Olsen Dec 18th 2005 5:08PM
Wow, really great comments, guys. Love it. So cool to hear more about a place from people who have been...or are from that place! Moody, really interesting you are from there. So glad to hear that it is as interesting place as it seems.
Kim Dec 18th 2005 5:08PM
A friend of mine was in Libya recently for just 24 hours but managed to get up to Leptis Magna and took some great pics, which are over on flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucab1982/sets/660301/.