Libya is still in the Process of Re-Branding itself as a tourism destination. The country certainly has great potential, boasting an extensive, undeveloped, unspoilt Mediterranean coastline, year-round sunshine, an abundance of Greek and Roman architecture and spectacular Saharan scenery, all within close proximity to Europe’s major generating markets.
Libya is also rich in history that s more legendary than it is familiar. In fact, since the Paleolithic era, Libya provided a setting for cultures to thrive at a time when the climate of the Sahara was still humid and hunter-gatherers were able to migrate across these vast expanses of land. The technological advances of the Neolithic era not only made it possible to produce tools and to make the transition to farming, but also enabled the artistic development of images that were first carved into and later painted onto rocks. The indigenous coastal populations developed from the 7th and 5th centuries BC in contact with the Greeks in the East and the Phoenicians in the west. This led to the devolvement of some of the most active urban settlements in the Mediterranean, which were not only centres of important artistic production but also imported artefacts from the other artistic lands. This vitality characterized Cyrene and Leptis Magna, but also centres such as Ptolemais or Tauchira in the East and Oea - which later became Tripoli - and Sabratha in the west. Within country the Garamata people who were still independent established the foundation for an original cultural existence during the first century AD. The invasion of the Arabs did not put an end to this existence and Tripoli, in particular, remained one of the major trading centres in the Mediterranean area throughout the medieval period.It is thanks to the Libyan Leader Muammar Al-Qathafi and the revolution, as well as active work of the Libyan Department of Ancient History and the cooperation of foreign archaeological centres, that the importance of this heritage has been recognised and that efforts have been made to re-establish its true value. The Al-Qathafi international foundation for Charity under the leadership of the Seif El-Islam Al-Qathafi has decided to put a selection of the most important work of Libyan heritage on public display. They want to give European visitors the opportunity to get a better insight into the variety and the richness of Libya’s historical past. Libya has always been a centre of creativity and a bridge between the Orient and the Occident; between the Mediterranean and sub-Saharan Africa. Visitors to Libya could well see what the Greek philosopher Aristotle meant, some 23 centuries ago, when he said ‘Libya always has some thing new to offer!’Tripoli, ancient Oea, was founded by Punic settlers from Carthage (near present day Tunis) at the beginning of the 5th century BC, but little archaeological evidence remains because the site has been continuously inhabited since ancient times. The most important traces of Oea’s past are from the 2nd century AD-the arch of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, built in AD 166 in imported Greek marble. From the time of Emperor Commodus, the sun and heir of Marcus Aurelius, there are the remains of the temple in honour of the Genius of the colony (a colony was a town whose citizens were all automatically Roman citizens). In the neighbourhood of Oea, at Gargaresh, many Roman period tombs were found. Christian cemeteries in Ain Zara and N’Gila show that a Christian population was still in existence there until the 10th century AD.Tripoli (‘the three towns’) after concentrating here the population of Sabratha and Leptis Magna together with the population of Oea.
Libya is also rich in history that s more legendary than it is familiar. In fact, since the Paleolithic era, Libya provided a setting for cultures to thrive at a time when the climate of the Sahara was still humid and hunter-gatherers were able to migrate across these vast expanses of land. The technological advances of the Neolithic era not only made it possible to produce tools and to make the transition to farming, but also enabled the artistic development of images that were first carved into and later painted onto rocks. The indigenous coastal populations developed from the 7th and 5th centuries BC in contact with the Greeks in the East and the Phoenicians in the west. This led to the devolvement of some of the most active urban settlements in the Mediterranean, which were not only centres of important artistic production but also imported artefacts from the other artistic lands. This vitality characterized Cyrene and Leptis Magna, but also centres such as Ptolemais or Tauchira in the East and Oea - which later became Tripoli - and Sabratha in the west. Within country the Garamata people who were still independent established the foundation for an original cultural existence during the first century AD. The invasion of the Arabs did not put an end to this existence and Tripoli, in particular, remained one of the major trading centres in the Mediterranean area throughout the medieval period.It is thanks to the Libyan Leader Muammar Al-Qathafi and the revolution, as well as active work of the Libyan Department of Ancient History and the cooperation of foreign archaeological centres, that the importance of this heritage has been recognised and that efforts have been made to re-establish its true value. The Al-Qathafi international foundation for Charity under the leadership of the Seif El-Islam Al-Qathafi has decided to put a selection of the most important work of Libyan heritage on public display. They want to give European visitors the opportunity to get a better insight into the variety and the richness of Libya’s historical past. Libya has always been a centre of creativity and a bridge between the Orient and the Occident; between the Mediterranean and sub-Saharan Africa. Visitors to Libya could well see what the Greek philosopher Aristotle meant, some 23 centuries ago, when he said ‘Libya always has some thing new to offer!’Tripoli, ancient Oea, was founded by Punic settlers from Carthage (near present day Tunis) at the beginning of the 5th century BC, but little archaeological evidence remains because the site has been continuously inhabited since ancient times. The most important traces of Oea’s past are from the 2nd century AD-the arch of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, built in AD 166 in imported Greek marble. From the time of Emperor Commodus, the sun and heir of Marcus Aurelius, there are the remains of the temple in honour of the Genius of the colony (a colony was a town whose citizens were all automatically Roman citizens). In the neighbourhood of Oea, at Gargaresh, many Roman period tombs were found. Christian cemeteries in Ain Zara and N’Gila show that a Christian population was still in existence there until the 10th century AD.Tripoli (‘the three towns’) after concentrating here the population of Sabratha and Leptis Magna together with the population of Oea.
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