Libya - Libia

Libya
Location
Coat of arms and flag
Capital	Tripoli
Government	Provisional parliamentary republic
Currency	Libyan Dinar (LYD)
Surface	1,759,541 km²
Inhabitants	6.120.585 (2008 estimate) 5.670.688 (2006 census)
Tongue	Arabic
Religion	Islam (97%) Christianity (2%) and the rest atheists or minor religions
Electricity	230V / 50Hz (British plug)
Prefix	218
TLD	.ly
Time zone	UTC 1

	ATTENTION: Following the worsening of the situation in the east of the country and the temporary closure of the Tripoli embassy, ​​the Farnesina "reiterates its urgent invitation to compatriots not to go to Libya and to those still present to leave the country temporarily". [1]

Libya (Arabic: ليبيا Lībiyā) is a nation of North Africa which overlooks the Mediterranean Sea and borders to the north-west with the Tunisia, to the west with theAlgeria, south with the Niger and the Chad, southeast col Sudan, to the east with theEgypt.

To know

Geographical notes

Libya has a long Mediterranean coast and is mostly flat. To the west, the plateau reaches the sea, creating deep cliffs and inlets. Moving east, the coast returns low and adorned with dunes, up to the gulf of a wide and deep inlet, beyond which the sheer cliffs begin again. It has a fairly extensive coastal plain, which rises as you move towards the Fezzan. This plain corresponds to the Sirte basin, characterized in some points by altitudes even lower than sea level. On the contrary, the Cyrenaica knows a plateau already near the sea. The interior is low, up to 250 meters, with the exception of the Tibesti massif, and characterized by a rocky and sandy desert, dotted with oases. The greatest relief is 2,267 meters.

Libya mainly has Saharan wadis that channel rainy season water. The only perennial rivers are the Ki'am and the Ramla in Tripolitania and the Derna in CyrenaicaThe aquifer, shallow near the sea (just 3 meters in the Tripoli oasis and 30-35 meters in the Gefara plain), becomes deeper as it enters the Fezzan. The Cyrenaica plateau is endowed with a network of underground waters that resurface in karst springs. The depressions of the desert (Giarabub, Cufra, grooves of the Fezzan) give rise to small lakes, often salty.

When to go

When choosing when to visit the country, it should be borne in mind that Libya's climate is strongly influenced by the desert in the south and the Mediterranean in the north. In the coastal region the temperature is rather mild: a Tripoli the average is about 26 ° C in summer and 14 ° C in winter, while rainfall is concentrated mainly in the winter months. In summer, occasionally, in the presence of winds from the desert, the temperature in the capital can reach or exceed 45 ° C. In the central plains, a semi-arid climate prevails, while the desert in the south is subject to long periods of drought. On the coastal strip, which is generally more humid, the ghibli sometimes blows in spring and autumn, a dry, warm and sand-laden wind.

Background

Today Libya was inhabited since the Neolithic period by indigenous peoples, ancestors of today's Berbers. Subsequently the Libyan territories passed in order under the dominion: Egyptian, Greek-Phoenician (from 332 BC), Roman (from 146 BC), Vandal (from 430 AD), Byzantine (from 533 AD), Arab and Ottoman. Each of these peoples has left their mark, more or less evident today, creating a heterogeneous culture.

The last state to usurp the Libyan territory was precisely Italy when in 1911 I colonized it until 1943. With the peace treaty of 1947, the Great Britain administered Tripolitania is Cyrenaica, and the France the Fasania (ancient region included in Libyan Sahara), under the trusteeship of the United Nations, while the Aozou Strip (obtained by Mussolini in 1935) was returned to the French colony of Chad.

With the support of the UN, on 24 December 1951 Libya declared independence as the United Kingdom of Libya, a hereditary and constitutional monarchy under King Idris al-Sanusi. On September 1, 1969, King Idris is deposed by a group of Nasserian officers. The country was renamed the Arab Republic of Libya and Muʿammar al-Qadhdhāfī presided over the provisional government, which launched a program of nationalization of Italian corporations and possessions, also closing the US and British military bases. In February 2011, the first civil war broke out in Libya which will formally end on October 20, 2011, the date on which he is captured and killed in his hometown of Sirte, Mu'ammar Gaddafi. In 2014 the second civil war broke out in Libya, an ongoing armed conflict in Libya between two governments and two rival coalitions: on the one hand the internationally recognized government, based in the eastern city of Tobruk; on the other hand, the government based in the capital Tripoli.

Spoken languages

In addition to the official language, the Berber language is also quite widespread in the country, especially in Jebel Nefusa ("nefusi"), in Zuara on the coast and in various inland centers such as Gat, Gadames, Sokna and Augila; while the Italian languages ​​and English they are used purely at an economic-commercial level.

Suggested readings

In contemporary Libyan literature, the prevailing genres are poetry and the short story. Fuad Kaabazi and Khalifa Tillisi are among the writers who have spent the most on translation and the exchange between Italian literature and Libyan literature.

Furthermore:

• Nora Lafi, Une ville du Maghreb between ancien régime et réformes Ottomanes. Genèse des institutions municipales à Tripoli de Barbarie (1795-1911), Paris, L'Harmattan, 2002, 305 p.
• Giovanni Buccianti, Libya: oil and independence, Giuffrè, 1999
• Stucco, Libya archeology notebooks, Volume 7.
• Anthony Ham, Libya, 2007

Suggested movies

• The order of things by Andrea Segre (2017) - The film deals with the problem of emigration from Libya toItaly and the "Libyan prison camps".

Territories and tourist destinations

      Cyrenaica - He understands Benghazi, Shahhat, Tobruch. The northeast of the region overlooking the Mediterranean.

      Libyan Sahara - He understands Gaberoun, Gadames, Sebha, Gat. Large desert region in the south of the country with jaw-dropping scenery and some of the highest temperatures ever recorded in the world. To the west lies the Fezzan region.

      Tripolitania - He understands Tripoli, Garian, Measured, Sirte, Zuara. In the northwest of the country on the Mediterranean with the capital and ancient Roman ruins.

Arch of Septimius Severus in Leptis Magna

Urban centers

Other destinations

How to get

Entry requirements

Visa restrictions: Due to the Arab League boycott of Israel, entry is refused to Israeli citizens and all those who have a visa in their passport for Israel.

Passport with residual validity of at least 6 months with stamp with translation of data in Arabic and entry visa. In the absence of the Arabic translation of the passport, there is a risk of not being admitted into the country (even in the presence of a visa). Sometimes, when applying for a visa, a medical certificate proving seronegativity to the AIDS virus is also required. L'Italian embassy it is found at Tripoli.

By plane

Libya's main airport is the Tripoli International 25 km from the capital.

On the train

There are no international connections and it has no domestic railway infrastructure.

How to get around

On the train

In 1965 the railway lines were decommissioned.

What see

• Archaeological sites of Leptis Magna, Cyrene and Sabratha
• Rock carvings by Tadrart Acacus
• Old town of Gadames

What to do

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Currency and purchases

The national currency is the Libyan dinar (LYD).

Below are the links to know the current exchange rate with the main world currencies:

At the table

Libyan cuisine has mixed elements of Arab and Mediterranean culture, with strong Italian influences that date back to the colonial past. The Libyan population prefers to eat at home, except on Fridays, when picnics are prepared on the coast, in which diners serve themselves, using their hands and bread as cutlery, from a large common plate. Nomadic Berber shepherds have left the custom of slow cooking soups and meats in clay pots (tagine), in addition to couscous, traditionally made from millet, today made from wheat, seasoned with meat (mainly mutton), fish or vegetables.

There shorba instead it is a vegetable soup spiced with chilli and topped with pieces of chicken, turkey or mutton.

Pasta with tomato is a legacy of Italian cuisine, reinterpreted with the use of spices.

The Jewish tradition has bequeathed the use of offal and the marinating of meat and fish.

The main spices used are coriander, cumin and cinnamon, to which saffron and cardamom are added to give color. Barley and wheat are the main cultivated cereals. Tomatoes and potatoes are the most popular vegetables; dates, bananas, coconut, oranges and figs identify fruit.

Drinks

Mint tea, served in small glasses, is the main drink. Alcohol is banned for religious reasons.

Tourist infrastructure

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Events and parties

National holidays

Libya follows the Islamic lunar calendar, and celebrates its main holidays.

In the past there were other holidays that were later suppressed, including:

• March 28, British withdrawal day
• June 11, Evacuation of foreign military bases
• 7 October, Friendship Day (until 2008: "Day of Revenge", in memory of the expulsion of the fascists in 1970)
• October 26, Remembrance Day of the 1911 deportations

Safety

Before embarking on the journey consult:

• Safe travel - Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Farnesina) (Country safety information). 

The situation in Libya has improved significantly. However, caution is still recommended and to consider certain areas such as off-limits for visitors. Unnecessary trips to Libya, especially outside Tripoli, are still to be avoided. Gay and lesbian tourists need to be careful and aware, because homosexuality is a crime.

A civil war between rival militias has been ongoing since 2014.

Health situation

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Respect the customs

How to keep in touch

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Other projects

• Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Libya
• Commons contains images or other files on Libya
• Wikiquote contains quotes from or about Libya
• Wikinews contains current news on Libya
  

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