June 2008
My Visit to Libya
by Somayya Gefori
I visited Libya for the second time in my life in December 2005. My first time was when I was two years old and whatever I know of that trip is what my parents told me, as I do not remember it. So going for a second time felt like my first time. I flew there on Libyan Arab Airlines (now Libyan Airways) from Heathrow Airport with my mother, two of my three brothers and my sister. My father grew up in the capital city, Tripoli (not to be confused with Tripoli, Lebanon). I felt glad that my father was from a city. I am one of those people who can’t cope without a working shower and amenities! No camping in the woods for me! At least when I ran out of my beloved toiletries, there were shops that sold all the brands you see in the UK.
Palm Trees and Cheap Petrol
The first things I noticed when we stepped out of Tripoli International Airport were the beautiful palm trees. I definitely knew I was in a different country then! I had only ever seen palm trees on TV. I noticed they were very tall. Believe it or not, during my stay in Libya, I got so used to seeing palm trees and talking Arabic, it was strange to come back home and see the greenery, and hear the British accents!
It was a half-hour drive from the airport to the family. Three of my aunties and one uncle still live there. I noticed that the cars in Libya drive much faster than the UK, and don’t seem to follow as many rules. One interesting fact in Libya is that the petrol is cheaper than the water. This is because Libya has its own oil, and doesn’t have to get it from abroad, like some other countries do.
The area where my family and I stayed with relatives was right near a main road. It was always noisy, and at night I could hear cars skidding and plenty of beeping, as some young men like to mess around in their cars. When I arrived I felt tired, but the next day I was ready for action and desperately wanted to see the sights Tripoli had to offer. We had to wait a couple of days because my uncle was the only one who had a car, and the wait almost killed me with boredom!
Seeing the Sights of Tripoli
One of the first things we did was go to the sea. Part of the sea isn’t there anymore, having been reclaimed into land as part of Green Square, near the fort which is called Al-Seraya al-Hamra. The Mediterranean Sea was beautiful, clear blue, not like the North Sea near where I live in the UK. We also went to visit the Tripoli old city, which has the huge Marcus Aurelius Arch, left over from the Roman occupation. There are narrow winding streets, in which my mum managed to find a quaint little silver shop. It was so tiny only one person could stand in it at once! I got a pair of earrings for two and a half Libyan Dinars, which is around £1 in British money. I love bargains!
We celebrated Eid-ul-Adha while we were in Libya, which meant we got to see the sheep getting slaughtered for the first time. It was a good experience, and I am grateful for being able to see it, as you just don’t get to see events like that in the UK. We had two sheep that stayed on the roof (the roofs in Libya are flat and you can walk up there, sit down in the sun, it’s wonderful!), one sheep was a two-year old ram, the other one was smaller, less than a year old. I called him ‘the clueless one’, because he was afraid of everything and looked pretty clueless! The bigger sheep would stamp his hoof at you if you got too close. He was crazy! We called him ‘the wild one’.
Slaughtering the Sheep
The big sheep was slaughtered first. He was brought down the marble steps from the roof. His legs were then tied together as the knife was quickly sharpened on a stone in the kitchen, out of sight. One of my uncles held his horns on his head to keep him still, the other uncle said “Bismillah” and cut the neck. Blood spurted out, and the sheep was kicking and making weird sounds.
It was no longer alive at that time, it’s all just the nerves making the legs kick. My little cousins were squealing, and my little sister fainted! She had to be taken to hospital to make sure her skull wasn’t fractured. Thankfully she was fine. Next came the little sheep’s turn for slaughter, and one my aunties decided to close the back door, to stop the kids making lots of noise.
Problem With My Passport
My mum, two brothers and sister left Libya before me, as there was a problem with my passport. I had to stay on another month! I missed my family and Britain terribly, and also college. I was in the middle of my English course, so I was understandably worried about failing my exam after missing so much work. I had some fun when my family had gone. I was taken by my uncle to the zoo in Tripoli. I love animals, and even have a cat of my own! In the zoo there were tigers, panthers, elephants, monkeys, birds of prey, bulls, camels and more. I liked the camels, we were allowed to feed them popcorn and stroke their heads. I had never seen them up so close before. One thing I didn’t like was all the rubbish some stupid individuals threw into the monkey enclosure. I felt it was dangerous to the monkeys, there could be sharp items. There was also a long, fat snake, I’m not sure what kind, but if you wanted to, you get a picture taken with the snake draped over your shoulders. I opted not to!
Gaddafi’s Face is Everywhere
I went to the fort Al-Seraya al-Hamra in Green Square. Inside is a museum, full of mainly old Greek and Roman statues in ruins. There was also Colonel Gaddafi’s old pale green Beetle car, which I wasn’t particularly interested to see. His face is plastered on billboards, in schools and even in shops all over Libya, that’s quite enough for me!
One of my best experiences in Tripoli was eating ice-cream outside the old Royal Palace. It was King Idris’s palace, before he was taken out out of power by Colonel Gaddafi with a military coop. It’s now open to the public.
When the time came to leave, and my passport was ready, I was happy to go home. As I was being driven to the airport, I was thinking, “I’ll miss this place, all the beautiful palm trees, the sea, relatives….” But I was also glad to be going back home after two months. I was really grateful to be ale to see my dad’s homeland, but I still think of Britain as home, because I grew up here, it’s all I know. I would love to go back and visit Libya, but not to stay for a long time!
March 2008
November 2007
I am now a regular blood donor, after recently donating blood for the second time.
