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| Port of Call-Libya,June 8th |
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| Many a smile to be found let us know that behind the rouge-country, mysterious image, people in Libya are the very same as the rest of us. A simple but valuable step of re-humanization at the heart of building relations between people |
The only problem with spotting tourists in Libya is not that we didn't stick out, but that there were so few to be found. Walking through a crowded, noisy street market on a warm afternoon in the old town of Tripoli, Obdallah, an older, well off gentleman who'd spent his life working in oil exploration guided us through the mass of mostly African immigrants hawking everything from fake watches to pots and pans. As he explained, echoing the concerns of many people we'd met this day, there is much more to Libya than what people in the West know. To explore this mysterious country, which on this 37th world cruise is probably the place we know least about was the goal of Peace Boat's second stop in Tripoli, Libya. |
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| Walking around the old town we stumbled into an old church and a group of kids who jumped at the chance to offer an impromptu concert of lively Libyan music |
The fact that Libya had recently been put, somewhat confusingly, on George W. Bush's axis of Evil-list deterred participants none as we set off on a myriad of tours about the country. Some went for the day to Leptis Magna, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is perhaps the most magnificent of Roman ruins to be found in the Mediterranean. Other participants flew to the covered city of Ghaddamis, also a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Sahara Desert to the south west of Tripoli. For many participants who spent the day in Tripoli, learning about the Libyan regime, society and philosophy called the third Universal Way-as written in the Green Book-by Colonel Qaddafi in 1971 proved to be a most interesting way to spend the day. |
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| The heart of the market, less than alive in the midday sun became almost too packed to walk as evening approached |
The first stop was to the eerily preserved house that was, until bombed by the US in April of 1986, home to Libya's leader, Colonel Qaddafi. Unlike our visit last year, the Leader was not on hand to personally welcome us but still the experience was intense, showing us clearly the severity with which international disputes are often dealt. Later we stopped in the Green Book Study Center, devoted to the guiding philosophy of Libya which claims to provide a more purely democratic system of governing society to replace traditional and flawed systems of socialism or capitalism. Amidst a conspicuous green and white color scheme through out much of the city we continued on to the most interesting stop, the Libyan Government's Diplomat Training Center. There we mingled with around 40 diplomats in training who were surprisingly willing and open to talk about their country, government and building relations between people at grassroots levels. |
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| The obligatory picture with the Great Leader at the Green Book Center. Although the pervasiveness of the Green Book philosophy around the country was a little curious, one could say that the Libyan people also took it with a reasonable grain of salt |
Although our experience was short, we perceived on the outside of people an enthusiasm for the Libyan system, called Jamahirya, that contrasted with different feeling that people rather lived along side the system, tolerating its peculiarities and finding what looked to be a decent way of life despite the system. Driving along roads in good condition crowded with cars, a wide diversity of often well-dressed people stopped and stared curiously as we passed. Of course the North-African food was not to be missed, spicy couscous and soup with meat and honey dipped pastries filling us to capacity.
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| Our guide around town, Sabri Elotei and two associates. Rather than diplomats and other lofty officials, between these few hundred Japanese people and the Libyan people are good natured people like Sabri fostering cross-cultural relations |
Our final diversion was an expertly guided tour of interesting points in the old town such as Roman ruins, the former British Consulate from where many African expeditions were arranged and the busy and crowded markets that only became more so as the sun set and temperature became quite nice. Walking through the streets it was impossible not to meet an inquisitive Libyan every few meters or so and a no-pressure politeness afforded to the shopping tourists rarely found in many tourist destinations now. Maybe most important is that, from this second Peace Boat visit to Libya, we could now see with our own eyes this country and know from our own experiences the warmth and friendliness of the people. That we could now compare our own experiences with how the rest of the world represents Libya was just about all that our hosts had asked for in return for one of the warmest welcomes we'd received on this world cruise.
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| Peace Boat's
37th Voyage |
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PEACE BOAT is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. |
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