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West Africa, Malta and the Balkans in 1999
Sabrata (LIBYA)
Bec2004-09-19 14:24:57
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Tripoli
One of sites worth visiting in Tripoli is the Red Castle and museum (Assai al-Hamra), most of which dates from the 18th century. A part of it is said to have been built by the Spanish and the Maltese Knights of St. John during a short Christian interlude between 1510 and 1551 when the Turks took over.
Revenues from the nationalized oil industry has allowed Qaddafi to modernize public infrastructures to a certain extent. High school attendance is high for Africa at 80 percent and illiteracy has fallen below 25 percent.
While most successful politicians are pragmatists before anything else, Qaddafi is one of these unique leaders who have bothered to write a book on their vision of the society they consider ideal. His three part Green Book is less elaborate than Hitler's Mein Kampf and more naive than Mao Tsedong's esoteric Red Book but it is nevertheless worth reading. Like the other two, the Green Book was hugely successful because it caters to the prejudices of the audience it is aimed at. For example, it goes great lengths to demonstrate "scientifically" that a woman's place is in the kitchen or the nursery when she is not in the bedroom!
I had picked up my Libyan visa in Tunis thanks to an invitation provided by the Azar Tours Travel Agency which I had contacted through the internet. My overnight bus from Sfax dropped me around 10 the morning in an eastern suburb some distance from the center. I was disoriented at first but people were very helpful and I soon found my way to a bank were the amiable manager gave me a cash advance on my credit card and showed me the way to the Libyan Youth Hostel. I was astonished by such kindness considering Libya's bad reputation abroad.
I was further surprised to learn that the Libyan Youth Hostel was affiliated to the International Hostelling Movement of which I am a member. I had a small room there for only 4 Dinars (4.60$US) and spent some
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See photographs from:
Libya Gallery
