Holiday in Libya
I
thought that I would like to share my wonderful holiday with you although
I am aware that not everyone has my passion for ancient civilisations.
I went to Libya. I
will give you a bit of history.
To
set the scene, the Phoenicians founded Libya around 500 BC.
The capital Tripoli is Libya's only ancient city that has been
continuously occupied since that time.
In 146BC it was briefly under the jurisdiction of a Nubian Kingdom,
then it became a Roman Protectorate.
By the 4th Century AD, Rome was in decline and the earthquake and
tsunami of 365 AD, in the Mediterranean off Cyprus, devastated much of the
North African coast. Most of
the ports in the area were washed away and the great cities of Cyrene,
Apollonia and Leptis Magna were reduced to rubble.
It also signalled the decline of the Roman Empire in North Africa.
The Vandals conquered Tripolitania in the 5th Century AD but
Emperor Justinian reclaimed the land for Byzantium.
The nomadic Berbers sacked it in 523 AD but they soon moved on and
the whole area was covered by sand and forgotten until 1939.
In 1969, military officers seized power and Colonel Qaddafi became
leader. I will not elaborate
on this in case Ian is a friend of his and I would be in trouble.
(Editor’s note: I
don’t think he’s in my address book.)
I flew to Tripoli and our first visit was to Sabratha, which has a stunning site. The highlights were the Roman Theatre, which was the most beautiful in ancient Rome. I loved the reconstructed Basilica of Justinian. The mosaics from the Temples and houses have been removed to the Museum and are amazing in glass and pottery. The Temple of Isis is regarded as the finest exhibit on the Sabratha site. We then visited Leptis Magna, where most people head for and because it was constructed of sturdy limestone that is more resistant to earthquakes, the ruins are wonderfully preserved. In Hadrian's time, a water supply via aqueducts was built and the Hadrianic Baths are fantastic, starting with very hot sweat rooms gradually getting cooler until the very cold plunge pool at the end.
I
ate my dinner in a restaurant overlooking the Marcus Aurelius Arch AD203,
which has been reconstructed with stunning effect.
I loved the Basilica built by Septimus Severus and in the 6th
Century AD converted into a Christian Church by Justinian adding a
baptismal font and an altar. Here
I saw the oldest ruins, that of a Phoenician city.
Under the Roman and Byzantine ruins, I also saw the Hippodrome
Coliseum and Theatre. A
flight to Benghazi took me on to see the sites Ptolomais, which Byzantine
Baths and a water system, a Greek Agora which became a Roman Forum and
lots more then on to the site at Cyrene where the highlight for me was the
Temple of Zeus.
The
statues from the Temple have all been removed to a Museum for protection
and they were marvellous. The
6th Century BC Temple of Artemis had been rebuilt in the 4th and 2nd
Centuries BC. Then finally to
Apollonia which is a small site and there is a great deal more to be
excavated as at all the sites. There
are three Byzantine Churches at Apollonia.
So much more to tell but I must not take up all of the
Proclamation’s space. The
sad thing is that Colonel Qaddafi does not want to keep the sites as it
reminds him of Colonialism. So
the Libyans do not take care of them.
They are not protected and anyone can walk in and steal.
The day before I was at Leptis Magna someone had an electric saw
and took a figure off the pilaster of the Basilica. The Italians are the people who excavate preserve and
reconstruct. 95% of Libyans
are Sunni Muslims. They have
a reputation for warmth and hospitality and I certainly experienced this -
I felt quite safe walking out alone at night.
Daphne