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Libya Pilgrimage April 2008
by Mike Bradley, Tour Guide
Libya is a fast developing country with ancient archaeological sites, World War Two battlefields and cemeteries and an unspoilt Mediterranean coastline.
Our tour started with two days in Tripoli, modern Libya's most important city, visiting the main tourist sites, the Military Cemetery and Sabratha, a spectacular Roman city dating back to 500 BC.
After a 600 mile flight, we visited Benghazi and continued through Cyrenaica to Tobruk. This Green Mountain area of Libya has stunning scenery, and is the main bread basket for Libya. We broke the journey half way to spend a comfortable night in a new hotel in Al Bayda, which was the administrative capital of Libya in the days of King Idris. We discovered that the new plumbing was not the best, but a helpful local person put most problems to rest in what was their first big night of European tourists.
From there we took the coastal road past Cyrene to Tobruk. This vast natural port and its surrounding areas are expanding and improving by the minute as money is poured in. This previously neglected part of the country has been helped by the fact that the current Prime Minister was once the Mayor. Here accommodation is very difficult to find, and we stayed in a Motel some 30 miles out of town towards the Egyptian border.
Highlights of the tour included visits to the two Military Cemeteries of Tobruk and Knightsbridge, and a day in the desert in 4WD vehicles with a picnic. The latter is a real Battlefield tour day with a visit to Zidi Rezegh where some very fierce actions took place in November 1941, and Knightsbridge where the Gazala battles happened in May 1942. It was also an opportunity to see some of the Tobruk fortifications, which are still visible in many places around the old perimeter.
Then it was back along the coast to Appolonia, the ancient Greek port for Cyrene. An excellent hotel conveniently located just next to the remains provides the best watering hole in this part of Libya. After a comfortable and restful night it was time to visit the ancient Greek City of Cyrene built amongst the mountains in early 700 BC and still in remarkably good shape today.
Our tour continued back to Benghazi and a flight back to Tripoli. The great ancient City of Leptis Magna located about 80 miles east of Tripoli was a fitting end to our tour. Another evening in the warm sunshine with a farewell dinner together before the three hour flight back to London.
Once again another successful tour in a country which still has a novelty factor, many diverse interests with both ancient and modern history on offer and the depth of feeling when accompanying relatives and friends visiting their loved ones in the elegant and beautifully maintained Military Cemeteries.
Travelling to Libya is an unknown quantity to most people in Britain, and few know that it is a fast developing country with modern cities, improving restaurants and hotels, and safe roads and airways which cover cast areas of desert in North Africa. The people are very friendly and helpful, and the majority involved with tourism speak good English.
We travelled to Libya with a group of people wanting to visit the graves of relatives and friends from World War Two, or who wished to see this relatively unspoilt country and learn about some of the battles that took place in this fascinating place with a massive history.
If you are interested we will be returning there in April 2009. Contact us for more information.