Libya 1973

Libya in 1973
In 1973 Victor spent a short time in Tripoli, Libya, working for Mobil Oil. This visit took place only three and a half years after King Idris had been overthrown by Colonel Gaddiffi in a coup d'etat in 1969. The Idris regime had been liberal and western-friendly, particularly with Britain and the USA. The new regime was very strict about dress codes, there was an absolute ban on alcohol, it was hostile to the West, and they used only Arabic language signs in all streets, shops and public places. The port city of Tripoli has magnificent architecture around the harbour. Much of this was built in ancient Roman style by Benito Mussolini, in the 1930s while Libya was an Italian colony. The tall columns by the harbour-front are supreme examples of this period. Leptis Magna is a spectacularly-preserved ancient Roman city, right on the coast just 130 kms east of Tripoli. I thought it far surpasses the major Roman sites in Italy, such as Pompei and Herculaneum, both for the splendor and amazingly-preserved state of its buildings, and for its unique location on a cliff-top overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

A mosque in central Tripoli	Another Tripoli Mosque

The Marina and the Harbour, Tripoli	Roman style columns at Tripoli Harbour

Roman Theatre at Leptis Magna	Victor standing on the stage of the Roman theatre, Leptis Magna.

The ancient Roman city of Leptis Magna against a backdrop of the Mediterranean Sea.

Victor's and Barbara's Travel Diaries