Where is this? - #9

Another picture for the 'Where is this?' challenge. If you think you know where it is (or you want to guess) click on comments.

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.

I noticed that they are doing a similar Where is this? on Libyan TV this Ramadan.... I wonder if they got the idea from me?

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Since no one seems to know where this is I've decided to post a few more pictures as a hint.







Does this look familiar?













What about this?














How about this?


Where is this???

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At last! Someone has the answer! - A.Adam posted this:

I know this mosque it called " El Turki mosque "located near to El Burj Bakery in Arad'a (3rada).

You're correct! It is El Turki Mosque in Arada, an area of Suk Juma. It's currently under renovation. It looked rather ordinary before but now it's looking pretty special. Lots of hard work has been going in to the design and building.

A drive to Gharian

We got up early and decided to go for a nice long drive. We headed out for Gharian. A hairpin turn road leads up the mountain into Gharian.



Dangerous curves. . . .



Along the roadside are stands that sell pottery that is made locally. We stopped and had a look.



We drove around, wandering on different roads, looking at the views.



We saw what looked like an old Italian church in the distance and decided to have a closer look.



Sure enough on closer inspection it was in fact an old church. It was abandoned and protected by a wall surrounding it.



Next to the church was a school that was from the same period and is still in use.



We had a look around and then went on our way.



It was a nice drive, but it was time to go home and cook dinner. One week of Ramadan is over... three to go.

The latest craze

The noise in my house must be many decibels above what is probably considered safe. Not only is the television blasting in the living room, the girls have the CD player in their room going at full volume and the play station has a constant 'Vroom, vroom, vroom' with Driver being played non-stop, or so it seems.

Lately the boys have taken it one step further. When Ibrahim and Jenna were small I bought them a plastic see-saw toy; a 'zingy-da-da' as they call it here. They outgrew it long ago and I threw it into the storage room thinking eventually we would move to the farm and I could take it out if small children were visiting. The boys were digging around and found it and discovered that they could go all the way to the top of our building and sit on it and ride it down the stairs.

They've even invited the neighbour kids to have a go at it. They all arrive straight after school, still wearing their school uniforms. They've been riding the stairs for the past few days. You cannot imagine the noise it makes! It's become the latest craze, all the boys are addicted. I've threatened to throw away the zingy-da-da while they are at school so they've found a hiding place for it while they're away. 'Boys! I absolutely refuse to take anyone that's bleeding to the hospital in my car - so if you get hurt you are on your own!' I told them, but they just laughed at me. . . . sigh . . . I need earplugs!

Some Blogs to Keep You Reading

I've come across some more blogs that are either being written by Libyans, or by people who have been here in the past, or are staying here now.

Chatalaine - Spent her high school years here in Tripoli - she's a Wheelus High School alumni who yearns to visit Libya again one day.

Small Digital World - a Libyan software developer

Huk Huk - Aimen is one of my students. He's on an adventure in Germany, doing a training program in architectural design at a company located in the Black Forest. He's writing his blog as a way to keep us informed about his many adventures. (I'm always so happy when my students start blogging!)

On Tripoli - A blog about things to do around Tripoli.

The Bedouin Project - A student of Middle East Studies working in Libya.

Sorry, You're Not Entitled - This is the true story of one family's emigration from England to Cyprus. Part of the story takes place in Libya.

I'll add them to my sidebar for future reference. The list keeps getting longer!

Where is this? - # 8

Another picture for the 'Where is this?' challenge. If you think you know where it is (or you want to guess) click on comments.

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.

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Dania2004 guessed it first when she commented: 'shat el hensheer area in treeg al shat', so congratulations dania2004!

Later in the day Trabilisia said: 'near the sea -side just after Libyana and Bu- sitta areas'. But Dania2004 answered correctly before Trabilisia so she gets the credit for having the correct answer first.

The picture is of a shop that specializes in selling lighting for decorative purposes. I'm not sure why anyone would want a glowing palm tree, but there are some people who must really love them because I see them around. I kind of like little twinkly lights in the trees sometimes, especially if you are sitting outside under them at night, but only white, not coloured bulbs for me. (I guess I'm a little on the boring side). I really hate it when they do up all the lights at weddings. I think it cheapens the atmosphere, but to each his/her own.

This one was way too easy. I will have to make it more difficult next time.

How to Survive Ramadan

People in Ramadan are just plain ole grumpy! I got up yesterday and sorted out what I was going to do for the day and then went to the small grocery store where I usually buy my vegetables. They were just opening up the store (at 11 am). I noticed that the guys working in the shop (about 6 of them) were having some kind of argument but as soon as I walked in the argument stopped.

They were the surliest bunch! Not one had a smile or a kind word. I bought my vegetables and fruit, the whole time thinking that the atmosphere was thick with anger. I got out of there as quickly as I could. No one offered to help me out to the car with the bags. As soon as I got out the door they erupted into their unfinished argument.

I piled the bags into the trunk and got in the car only to be startled by a hard rapping noise on the window glass directly next to my ear. I looked and found a begger woman pounding away on the window - she wouldn't stop banging away. I just drove off, the whole time hoping she wasn't somehow attached to the car and coming home with me. Why are beggars so rude and why are there so many of them during Ramadan?

I got home, unloaded the groceries and started in cooking. I always cook early in Ramadan. I make sure I'm done by 2:30 so I can take a shower and have a nap, spending the afternoon relaxing, reading, working on some project or another, or just hanging out with my family. I found that if I keep to this schedule I feel better and I'm less likely to be in a grumpy mood. If I find myself behaving badly I can just go to bed and stay there until it's time to eat, thus avoiding making other people miserable.

Why does Ramadan turn people who are normally pleasant into beasts? Where do all these beggars come from and what do they do the rest of the year?

What do you do to get yourself through Ramadan?

Warm Wishes

Wishing you all the very best this month. For information about Ramadan in Libya please see the post below. I'm playing with widgets and installed a widget that will let you see the page on my website about Ramadan in Libya.

Ramadan Mubarak!