Some Links

Survey - A daily doze of what might be exciting and informative.

Braveheart - A Libyan engineer furthering his studies in the UK

Hamza's Libya in a blog

Take it easy

Adventures of Mr Behi

As usual I will add them to the sidebar for future reference.

Life in Libya is changing

I often get email from people asking about what life in Libya is like. Sometimes they have a specific question and sometimes they just want to know about life in general. Oftentimes the letters are from people who have lived in Libya in the past and they want to reassure themselves that life here hasn't changed. I used to feel this way about my own hometown and then when I visited after many years of being absent from it I saw that though many things had drastically changed, there still were things that had stayed the same.

Chatalaine is someone who reads my blog and has started one of her own. She lived here during the 'Wheelus era', her formative years were spent here and Libya had/has a big influence on her life. Her letter began with the woes of finding something to blog about but then evolved into her memories of life in Libya as she knew it. This is what she wrote:

Sometimes I am at a lose for things to blog about. Actually lets make that all the time. I have such a hum drum life. So I blog about things that bug me from day to day. Putting in my two cents like my grandmother would say.

But you! Now there is another story. When I lived in Tripoli we saw camels everyday. The ghiblis would make such a mess.. there would be piles of sand every where and just about the time it all got cleaned up here comes another ghibli. The square where the cathedral and post office was down town was a nice place to have a cool drink in the afternoon. The arched walk ways along the streets down town always enticed me to come and see what was for sale. We shopped for our groceries in a shop called the frozen foods (not much frozen but lots of western products) with the best bread I have ever had and at a produce stand. We would eat at restaurant that was aimed towards Americans Guys and Joes. Spaghetti at the Swan restaurant (the first bug zapper I ever saw was on their patio). These are things that bring back memories for me. I am sure others out there that are not in Tripoli would love to hear about your markets etc.... I have so enjoyed your shopping trips with the kids. Been there done that!! Do you cook western meals? Libyan? Do you ever think about making tacos? If so how would you get the products? Just ideas...... if you have some for me I would LOVE the input!! Chatalaine

And this was my reply:

My life is pretty boring... at least to me. I try to take the ordinary and make it interesting.

The only camels I usually see are hanging in the butcher shop. But I live in Benashur which in your day was the countryside and nowadays is city. When we move out to Ainzarah there are camels on people's farms, but then even Ainzarah is quickly being eaten up. The farms are being divided and houses are going up fast.

Ghiblis are still there... we can't change the weather I guess (sometimes I wish we could).

Supermarkets are changing fast. There are still the tiny mom and pop kind of places but many large supermarkets are popping up and even super stores like The Mahari. Barcode readers at the cash registers, magazines and candy and chewing gum (all the popular western kinds) are on display next to the cashier, the meat department, dairy aisle, an aisle for breakfast cereals - kelloggs and nestle, duncan hines cake mixes and microwave popcorn, all mixed in with the good old fashioned zomita and ibsisa. Libya has lots of variety but still lacks variety in the frozen food dept.

Fast food restaurants are popping up everywhere. Hamburgers, pizza, shawarma and kabob, chicken and there is even a few chinese restaurants and some restarants have mexican food on the menu. Corinthia Hotel even has a Mexican night in one of their restaurants.

Bread - still there are the neighbourhood bakers but there are also large bakeries that sell a variety of breads, pizzas, sweet rolls and croissants. Libyans still must have their bread and it's still government subsidized so it's affordable to everyone.

I make mostly Libyan foods because it's easier to produce a meal for a large family that way. Sometimes we eat 'American' and sometimes Asian. Nowadays we all seem to be on different schedules and it seems we rarely sit down all together anymore.

Most kids here have mp3 players, playstation and computers. Kids know how to use the internet and they watch the latest films and shows on satellite TV - Oprah and Dr. Phil are household words here and we get NBC, ABC, CNN, BBC and all the other acronyms.

The 21st century has arrived in Libya. ...... I think it's kind of sad in a way.... Hurry up and visit before it's all gone.

Chatalaine then sent me this in reply:

OH Teri!!! What a wonderful email! You should blog it as is!!! Thank you for sharing with me. If you don't mind I will post it on our Wheelus message board so everyone can enjoy you words. Have a wonderful Saturday,
Chatalaine

Where is this? - #13

Here's the next picture for the 'Where is this?' challenge. If you think you know where it is (or you want to guess) click on comments. Click on the picture to see an enlarged image.

The pictures for the game 'Where is this?' have all been taken from someplace in Libya and are in an area open to the public. The prize for the winner will be the satisfaction of knowing that you had the right answer! - I'll let you know who the winner is.

-------------------

A.Adam gave the answer:

'very easy, Wadi Ghan near to Al Hira or Gharian south Tripoli'

He's correct - Mabrouk A.Adam!

Wadi Ghan is a really beautiful place to visit. Water is collected there in a reservoir and there is also a plant there for producing bottled drinking water. The views there are breathtaking.

The wadi is abundant in wildlife. It's a peaceful and quiet place located about an hour's drive south of Tripoli. A nice place to have a picnic or for hiking.

This is the view overlooking the foothills.

I'll have to make the next Where is this? challenge a bit more difficult. A.Adam had the answer posted within an hour of me posting the challenge!

Enough Complaining!

Ok.... people have been complaining that I've not posted in a while. It's not so much that I've been busy (I'm always busy) it's just that life's been pretty dull these days. Just work and a few social visits on my schedule for the past week.

The new neighbour upstairs is still renovating. I've had two weeks of pounding and banging above my head. My husband had a word with the guy and said 'Enough is enough - we need a day off!". So today the only noise has been what's normally created by my children (and that's really noisy). Tomorrow the binging and banging will begin again - at 8 in the morning. They stop for about a half an hour for lunch and then continue until sunset. I'm so happy to walk out the door and go to work in the afternoon - six hours of normal noise. Going to work is probably the only thing that's kept me sane.

Otherwise the only thing I've been doing is some de-cluttering in the house. Every November I sort through drawers and cabinets, throwing out all kinds of junk or relocating it. I've also been taking out the winter clothes.

Ibrahim asked me where his winter clothes were and I sent the kids into the storage room to look for them. They couldn't find them and after a while I remembered I threw out all his heavy clothes last spring. He's so hard on his clothes that they looked awful and not worth saving. Next week I'll have to take him shopping for some new stuff. Now that should be a post to look out for!

We have a winner!

Where is this #12

Ahhh! At long last we have a winner! Go have a look to see who's won - I've also add some more pictures.

The sea in winter

The rainy season has begun. Winter will be here soon. School has begun and Ramadan is over, summer is behind us. This is the time of year that I go to the beach. I enjoy feeling the wind whipping around me and watching the waves crashing in along the shore.

A walk along the beach, combing for treasures washed up on the beach. Shells, seaweed, sand polished stones, driftwood, a bottle with a note inside... what do I find ...

Plastic bottles, garbage, paper, torn carpets, chicken bones from long-ago meals, old tuna cans and assorted trash are among the debris washed ashore by the waves.

During the summer months the beach is rented out to people who create temporary beach resorts for the season. They rent tents, beach chairs and palm frond covered shelters to beachgoers. Small cafe's are opened that serve snacks and provide coffee and waterpipes for those that smoke sheesha. Some have play equipment; slides and swings for the children.

At the end of the season they close up shop and leave, leaving behind all the mess that was created by the thousands of people who used the beach during the hot Libyan summer months. Who is responsible for cleaning up this mess?


Every section seems to have some kind of building on it - all of the buildings are made using the cheapest materials available. Unplastered cinder-block, ugly paint.

Many of the places have bathrooms and dressing areas. Old-fashioned hole in the floor toilets...

... with the drainpipes leading directly to the sea. How disgusting! Who would want to swim in a sewer?

Is there a solution for this problem? Who is responsible for cleaning up this mess? It's not only ugly but dangerous and an environmental disaster. Is this a way to encourage tourism in Libya? Are the taxpayers going to foot the bill of the cleanup costs? Or is it just going to be left this way in the hopes that it gets washed out to sea?

More links to look into

There are a few blogs that I've come across. Two of them I found on other's blogs, one of them was sent to me by it's creator and one I just stumbled upon by chance.

First is a group weblog; Our Favorite Recipe Center is a blog created to compile everyone's favorite dishes - some are Libyan and some are not - all the recipes sound delicious!

Next is a photoblog by Geleidi, a Libyan living in Canada. The photos are stunning.

Here's a new blog - Field of Dreams, the blog of a Tajouran in America. This one's still really new! I hope this Tajouran keeps posting.

I love Libya - A place for people who really miss Libya,who have there great moemories in Libya, People who love to go there, who love Libya.


Last, for now, is Kitmax. This blog chronicles the celebratory re-run of the Long Range Desert Group's 1941 expedition through Libya, reliving the past in the present. There's also a website for Kitmax too.

As always, I'll add them to my sidebar for future reference.